Mr Gallo Goes to Washington
by Hijah
Summary: PLEASE READ APOLOGY BEFORE READING CHAPTER 16. THANK YOU
1. chapter 1

MR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTON

Based on characters created by Steven Levitan

A/N: Another crack at JSM fan fiction, this one light years away from my first try (The Fountain of Youth Flows Through Seattle, posted on the Kolchak: the Night Stalker section of this site), and more (I hope) along the lines of the series. It's the first chapter in what I hope will become sort of an internet spin-off of the original series. I hope you enjoy.

It was morning at Blush Magazine. 10:17 am to be exact, by the watch on Maya Gallo's left wrist. Searching the cupboard for a teabag, she selected one with Orange and set about making herself her second cup of the morning. The office was filled with the light buzzing of employees working to finish up this month's edition, a soothing sound.

Across the room the elevator doors swooshed open, expelling one of the two final members of the editorial staff to arrive that morning. By the dark glasses on her face and the ridged way she carried herself to the coffee maker behind Maya, it was obvious that Nina Van Horn had had a busy weekend.

"Morning, Nina," Maya greeted her airily.

"As far as I know," Nina answered, filling her mug with the strong black office fuel, "But which morning?"

"It's Monday, Nina."

"Oh." Nina took a sip of the coffee. "Have I missed the staff meeting?"

"No."

"Damn."

The coffee having the desired effect on her sight, the two Mayas that Nina had been talking with converged into one, focused person. It was then that she noticed the white button that she wore on her black turtleneck.

"What's that?" she asked, looking over her sunglasses to read it, "'Berkeley for Congress?'"

"I spent the weekend handing out literature for his campaign. Y'know, it's been a long time since I was this wrapped up in politics. For the longest time, I saw them as just crooked, self-serving no-accounts who didn't care for real people, but then I met Congressman Berkeley at a fund raiser. I never met such a caring, public minded politician in my life. It gave me a whole new energy to fight for a cause."

She paused and discovered through an odd sound coming from her co-worker that Nina had fallen asleep on her feet. Literally.

Stepping backwards from her, Maya backed into Dennis Finch.

"Ow!" he snapped, "You hurt me!"

"I'm sorry, Dennis!" Maya apologized.

"More, please!"

Maya shoved him away.

"What's with the cigar-store slut there?" Dennis asked, pointing to Nina, who had yet to move.

"I think she fell asleep. I was talking to her..."

"Yeah, that'll do it."

Dennis crept up on her and seemed to study her like a specimen under a microscope.

"I've never seen anything like it," Maya told him.

"I have. Never fear, Finch is here. This takes a man with a slow hand, an easy touch..."

Dennis slowly rose up on his toes, got really close to Nina's left ear and stage whispered, "Nina, my wife's pulling into the driveway."

As if shot, Nina jumped forward and shrieked, "Quick, my clothes!"

Suddenly realizing where she was, Nina gave a quick, embarrassed smile, and disappeared into her office.

"One crisis solved," Dennis smiled, "Now, the reason I came over here. Maya, where's your dad?"

"I don't know. He said something last night about having a meeting this morning, and that he was going to show up with a surprise for everyone."

"Um-hum." Dennis answered, only half listening, focused on the button.

"It says 'Berkeley for Congress."

"What does?"

Another elbow to Finch's ribs brought him back to reality.

"Ow," he said again, "I love it when little Miss Maya gets tough."

She shot him her 'back off, Finch' look and he did so.

"Berkeley? Isn't he that guy who keeps getting elected to Congress because the other party can't find any honest non-losers to run against him?"

"James Berkeley gets re-elected because he's a decent man who does his best and the people here realize that."

Finch smiled at her. "Mmm...yeah. Anyway, I wonder who's going to be the sacrificial lamb this time?"

Just then, the elevator doors opened again and Jack Gallo, owner-publisher of the magazine and Maya's father, appeared, carrying a large, white piece of cardboard in his hand.

"Morning, all," he said cheerily, "I have an announcement to make. 

"This morning, after discussing it with some people in the know, I've decided to run for Congress!"

Jack turned the sign around. On the other side of the cardboard, on a background of red, white and blue, were the words JACK GALLO FOR CONGRESS.

"Bingo." Finch said, turning and leaving Maya to stand shell-shocked before her father.


	2. chapter 2

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A/N: After much delay, here is the second installment in 'Mr. Gallo...'. Your patience is appreciated and my account is now open to anonymous reviews. Although I mention it in the next line or two, I'll make it clear: while I wish I had, I did not create, nor do I own, any of the characters, which are the property of Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, Steven Levitan Productions, Sony Pictures Television and NBC, Inc. With that taken care of, here we go...

MR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTON--CHAPTER TWO

Based on characters created by Steven Levitan

The announcement left the bullpen in silence. The relaxing sound of the magazine's normal operations had disappeared as the employees turned now to look at their boss.

"You're what?" Maya asked finally, after scraping her jaw off the floor.

"That's right. After a lot of careful thought, I've decided that it's time to stop talking about the problems facing this great country of ours and actually do something about it."

The statement placed a confused look on Maya's face. "When did you start talking about them?" she asked.

Narrowing his eyes, Dennis asked, "This wouldn't have anything to do with Donald Trump thinking about running for congress, would it?"

"Certainly not!" Jack looked hurt and for a moment, Dennis actually thought he'd hurt him with the comment, until Jack asked him hurriedly, with a look of sudden concern on his face, "When is Trump supposed to announce his decision?"

"Eleven o'clock." The answer was calm, but inside, Dennis was relieved. 

"Good, good. Mine's scheduled for ten."

"I can't believe it," Maya nearly shouted, following Jack into his office, "You're only running for office because Donald Trump is running?"

"That's not fair, Maya." Jack sat down at his desk and looked up at his daughter, who was now standing before him and glaring down, "You've said yourself for years that I should be more involved in the issues. How better than to try to get into a position where I can actually do something about it, regardless of the why?"

"Because you don't really mean it, that's why!" she countered, "Anything you say about the issues would be a lie, because you're only trying to get to Congress to have something that Trump doesn't."

"That's silly, honey. I've never done anything or bought anything in my life just because somebody else did or didn't."

The office door opened and Dennis leaned in. "Jack, there's a Mister Bjorkson from Iceland on line one, something about an iceberg."

"Take a message."

As Dennis closed the door, Jack looked up at Maya, who gave him one of her infuriating, 'so what was that?' looks.

"I'm contributing it to Africa," he told her lamely, "Drought recovery."

"Well," Maya finally said, "I can see I can't talk you out of this. If you feel the need to take something as important as campaigning for public office and make it cheap and petty and personal, then be my guest. Just don't expect me to watch."

With that, she turned on her heel and marched from the office. As she sailed past Dennis' desk, he held up the phone.

"Maya, there's a Cal Berkeley on the line," he told her, "He wants to talk to you."

She walked back and took the phone away from him.

"This is Maya Gallo...Why, yes, Congressman...of course...certainly...around noon? Yes, I'm free...Good bye."

She handed the phone back to Dennis, who replaced it and looked at her. When she didn't say anything, he prompted, "Well?"

"Congressman Berkeley wants to have lunch with me."

"OOH," Dennis teased her, "Maya Gallo, sleepin' with the enemy."

Now she leaned across the desk and put a warning finger in Dennis' mildly humored face.

"Dennis," she snapped, "You leak a word of this to my father, and so help me, I'll tell him about the filthy stories you write and post on the company's intranet."

"You wouldn't," he answered in his usual deadpan voice.

"Try me."

She continued her trip back to her office, then paused, turned and took two steps back towards his desk.

"And just for your information, I don't care how many people vote for it, I will NOT mudwrestle Barbie in Accounting."

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Author's post-note: I wanted to thank you for the favorable reviews received so far and I hope this installment lived up to most of them. A couple of suggestions have been made, both of which I have read and will strive to work on. One has been fulfilled, in that my account is now able to accept anonymous reviews. The other, about more detail, more description, all I have to say is...you're absolutely right. It's long been a problem with my writing, and now that I have found a semi-regularly place to practice it, I promise to work on it. You didn't see much improvement in this short chapter I'm afraid,(think of this as the section of a typical episode between opening credit and first commercial break) but I promise to work on it in upcoming installments.


	3. chapter 3

A/N: I continue to appreciate the reviews that I've received on this story, and I will continue to improve on it. However, I have discovered one glaring error I made and that no one, thus far, has mentioned. I appreciate that, believe me, and I readily admit to it. In chapter one, Jack's opponent is Congressman James Berkeley. In chapter two, he is suddenly Congressman Cal Berkeley. I apologize for this big, fat error and promise that from now on, all the characters will maintain the same name, and I think I'll keep the name Cal Berkeley for obvious reasons. 

Again, I announce to all those who are listening: I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THESE CHARACTERS. THEY ARE THE PROPERTY OF STEVEN LEVITAN PRODUCTIONS, SONY PICTURES, BRILLSTEIN-GREY AND NBC. SO THERE!

MR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTON--CHAPTER THREE

From the moment Maya and Berkeley arrived at Chateau de Ville, Maya felt the weight of every eye on them as the overly polite matre-d showed them to 'the usual table', silently deposited two menus and disappeared, replaced by an equally polite waiter, who stood back as Berkeley told Maya to order whatever she wanted, as "It's on me."

Maya ordered a simple plate of pasta with no sauce as Berkeley called for a large plate of spaghetti. He also called for a bottle of champaign. "Wow," Maya said, impressed, "Chateau de Ville. My father has been trying to get in here ever since it opened."

"Yes," he was saying, "I've heard quite a bit about this place and have been trying to get in also, but you know, the business of Washington."

Maya smiled back at him. "Yes, I can understand how busy you've been between being here for the campaign and in Washington for the health bill debate. You know, I don't know how you do it without going crazy."

"Well, it's a necessity. Health care is very important and it's necessary to see this bill through. We need it."

"Oh, I agree."

She'd only seen him once or twice before. He was a tall man, about six feet, with a boyishly handsome but intelligent looking face and a well groomed thicket of red hair atop his head. He looked much younger than his forty-three years and his build, in his blue suit, white shirt and red tie, seemed athletic. This was the first time she'd seen him up close. Previously, it had only been in passing as he'd made token appearances at his campaign headquarters to keep up his troops' spirits as they awaited the announcement of his opponent. An opponent who seemed to be none other than...

She suddenly slammed her fist into the table, drawing startled glances from the neighboring tables.

"Something wrong, Ms. Gallo?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing. It's just...well...my father. OOH, I could just kill him when he does things like this!"

"I take it you're against his campaign?" Berkeley asked.

"Don't get me wrong, I love my father, even if he is occasionally a conservative hypocritical blowhard, but I just wished he was doing it for a good reason, like... oh, I don't know...any reason other than the one he's got for doing it."

"Some do it because they feel they need to, regardless of the reason. I mean, my first political campaign here in New York was to impress a girl."

Maya laughed. "You're kidding."

"Oh, no. I mean, I found purpose once I got there, of course, but if you were to demand at gunpoint the real reason I ran for the city council that first time, I'd have to confess it was to show Maureen O'Neill that I was more than a head in the clouds recent grad from Stanford."

"So," he raised his glass, "Let's toast to all the dumb reasons to enter politics and hope that out of all of them, some good will emerge."

"I'll drink to that," Maya responded to the toast and they clinked glasses.

"Tell me something," Maya asked, "Of the two men who are planning to run against you, is there one you'd rather run against?"  


The smile returned and Maya wondered if his face ever got tired from doing it all the time, even if it was attractive.

"Ah," he answered, "Maya Gallo, reporter, has arrived."  
  
Maya smiled shyly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to turn this into an interview."

"Oh, that's OK, Maya. Don't worry about it. If I had to do an interview, I'd much rather have it be someone as pretty as you."

Now, Maya blushed and turned her smile down towards the floor.

"To answer your question, I really don't care who I'm running against. I'm of the belief that I will fear nothing if I'm in the right."

They talked the rest of the hour, promising not to discuss 'work', although, at his urging, she told him all about working for a magazine like Blush. She told him of all the frustrations and, she added grudgingly, the joys of writing for a national publication, even if it was only Blush.

As she talked, Berkeley buttered his bread and watched, observing her body, her face and their language. She was a passionate woman, he decided, liberal in beliefs and, judging from her choice of clothing--the black turtleneck, matching slacks--conservative in fashion. She seemed as though she was ashamed of the fact that God had given her a powerful weapon in that figure and wanted to hide it. Maybe until necessary, he though to himself. She was intelligent, well read and smart, which was, he'd learned, different than intelligent.

Berkeley turned down the smile and leaned forward. "How about meeting at the office tonight around five or so and I'll give you that interview. If you don't mind having dinner along with it, I mean."

"I'd be honored, Congressman..."

"Please, call me Cal. And please, stop saying you're honored. I'm honored that you accept."

Maya suddenly looked down at her watch. "I have to be getting back to work. Thank you for lunch, and yes, I'll see you tonight at around six?"

"Perfect. I'll see you then."

Berkeley watched her leave. As he did, he barely noticed the phone ringing in his suitcoat pocket. Removing it, he pushed a button.

"Berkeley...yeah, Stewie...I'm at Chateau de Ville...yeah, the Italian place...yeah, the one with the bod who works at the office down here, and get this, she's Jack Gallo's daughter...yeah, ain't it great? I kick his butt and bag his daughter...Look, last time it was an accident. I'm sure not gonna get in that deep again, and this time I'm not going to get caught..."

A/N: OK, everyone saw this coming, right? Well, then, who am I to disappoint? It's not the best, but it gets me from chapter two to chapter four, which will have the feel of the show again, I hope. I'm tired, it's late and...no, to quote John Wayne, "Never apologize, it's a sign of weakness." I'll just leave it the way it is and improve next time. Once again, review and please be gentle. It gets better and, who knows, we may even get around to seeing Elliot...maybe...Till then, fellow readers...


	4. chapter 4

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A/N: No more self pity, no more apologies. It's time to 'damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead'. By the way, I don't own these characters, which belong to Steven Levitan Productions, Brillstein-Grey, Sony and NBC...SO STOP ASKING!

MR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTON

Based on characters created by Steven Levitan

Jack Gallo, publisher of Blush Magazine, emerged from his office, plastic cup of blue slushie in his hand and asked around the straw in his mouth, "Dennis, what do the latest polls say?"

Dutifully, Dennis Finch pulled the results of the latest NY _Daily News_ poll up on his all knowing, all powerful lap top and reported, "If the election were held today..."

"Yes?" Jack asked impatiently.

"You'd carry the bullpen."

"Still behind, huh?"

"Ah...yep. According to the latest poll, sixty seven percent of voters are for Berkeley, twenty percent for you, ten percent undecided and three percent are still holding out hope that cloning can be perfected by November and they can vote for Kennedy."

Dennis closed the poll result window, adding under his breath--barely--"Same as it was five minutes ago."

"I can't understand it, Dennis, I really can't. I mean, it's been a week since Trump decided not to run for the office and I've actually fallen farther behind. I ask you, what do I have to do?"

"How about creating a sex scandal."

Jack considered this, then shook his head. "No, no, Cal Berkeley's a boy scout."  


"No, I meant for you."

Jack looked wide-eyed at Dennis. "_What?_"

"Hey, look what it did for Clinton."

Eyes still wide, and with his head shaking, Jack disappeared back into his office as Elliot DiMauro approached from across the bullpen, waving a stack of photos and calling out, "Jack, wait a minute...Hey, Jack...", the final part at a closed door.

"Man," he moaned.

"Tell me about it, Charlie Brown," Dennis agreed, commenting on Elliot's choice of sweater that morning.

"How can we get anything done with him tied up with running for Congress?"

"Same way we've been running it for the last eight years or so. Maya, Nina and you run the magazine, I forge his signature. By the way, Jack approved a five percent pay raise for the four of us. I'll let him know next week."

"Thanks, brother."  
  
"No sweat. As for the photos, leave them here, I'll initial them in a second."

Elliot handed Dennis the photos, giving him a hard look. "You seem depressed."

"It's just this whole election thing. I thought maybe he'd play with it a day or two, then give up. Kind of like when Dad decided he was going to marry Nina."  
  
"Or that time Jack decided he was going to sail around the world."

"Yeah. This time, though, Nina can't accidentally try to sail his yacht up Wall Street."

Elliot's thoughts drifted back and he smiled a wistful smile, "Yeah, I remember that. You know, I was there and I STILL don't know how she did that."

"Thanks to the case of Smirnoff, neither does Nina," Dennis added.

"Yeah, but that traffic cop was sure surprised, wasn't he?" Elliot continued.

Elliot reached across the desk and slapped Dennis on the shoulder. "Don't worry, pal. At least you know it can't last past early November."

Turning to the mail before him, Dennis muttered, "Yeah, I guess so." 

Behind them, with a soft 'ding', the elevator doors opened, disgorging its passengers, including Maya, who this morning was wearing a silk blue blouse, navy slacks and a smile warmer than usual for one who had just gone to lunch.

"So, Maya," Dennis greeted her, "Skyrockets in flight, huh?"

She smiled a shy smile. "Maybe."

Dennis jumped in place. "EWWWW...GROSS...Tell me more. Sights, sounds, eight by tens, VHS..."

"So," Elliot asked, "You and the congressman, huh? Cozy."

Maya's shy smile became a steel glare. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, defensively.

"I'm just saying that, y'know..." He looked back and forth from Maya to Dennis, who was giving him no support, just standing there, looking at him with a cocked eyebrow, "I'm just saying that...well...maybe he's just doing it because...well..."

"Why, Elliot?" She was mad now, "It couldn't be that he thinks I'm attractive and smart and witty and..."

"OK," Dennis laughed, reading Elliot's 'for Christ's sake help me!' expression and stepping in between them, "He's had enough. Neutral corner, there, spark plug. You," he turned to Elliot and nodded towards his studio, "I'll be in with that shoehorn to get you foot out of your mouth in a second."

"Well, you know what I mean..."

Maya jumped forward, prompting Dennis to put his hands on her shoulders. "Elliot, I can't hold her back forever."

Dennis watched over his shoulder as Elliot returned to his studio. Once he was out of sight, he let go of Maya.

"He means well, Maya," Dennis told her softly, "I think what he means in his own, inimitable, insert brown loafer 'A' into mouth slot 'B' kind of way is...well...I don't...I mean we don't...want to see you get hurt again."

It was a tone of voice without any hard, cynical edge to it, a tone he saved only for Maya. A secret he kept only to himself...and known by Maya, who knew but never let on she did. It was the only way she knew when he was serious.

"Dennis, I appreciate it. I know what he meant, but why couldn't he say it like you just did?"

He nearly whispered his answer, "Because he doesn't know you as well as I do."

"Don't worry, Dennis," she answered, just as quietly, taking his chin in her fingers and lifting his head up so he looked at her in the eyes, "I'm a big girl. I won't let him hurt me like Elliot did. It won't happen again."

She smiled at him, then headed for her office as he melted in the middle of the room, a blue shirted, blue tied, black slacked puddle in the center of the bullpen.

I hope so, he thought, because I think seeing you the way I saw you that night would kill me this time.

Just before she reached the door of her office, she felt down the side of her slacks and stopped. 

"Dennis," she asked, turning around, "Have you seen my keys?"

"What I look like, Yale, the God of lost keys?"

She walked into her office and dumped her purse on her desk. She sorted through the pile of pens, scraps of papers and assorted pieces of her life as Dennis watched from the door. As she did, she muttered, "Oh, no..."

"What keys are missing?"

"All of them. All my keys, the keys to Dad and Allie's place here in town, everything..."

"When did you have them last?"

"When I locked the door to my apartment last night before going to see Cal."

"Maybe you left them at Cal's by accident."

"I hope not. He's going back to D.C. today and will be gone until the weekend."

"Well," he said, sly smile on his face, "It looks like you'll be spendin' the night with ol' Finchy..."

She shot him one of her dagger stares.

"...Or I can call a locksmith to have him meet you at your place, too."

Two men, both in black business suits, stood before an apartment door. They had been unchallenged by anyone save for a woman carrying a white poodle down the stairs. The woman, a lifelong resident of Manhattan, had learned never to ask or tell anyone what she'd seen.

The first man stuck a key in the slot. It didn't fit.

"Damn."

"Hurry up," the second urged, looking about, "I don't like day jobs."

"They aren't marked."

"Because they're hers, you idiot. Now, try another, fast."

The third finally did the trick and they rushed in, locking the door behind them.

"What are we looking for?" the first, a short, rotund man, asked.

"Anything that looks personal," the second, a tall, lean man answered, "Papers, pictures, anything."

"Y'know, Bud, I don't get it. Why does he want us t' do this? He think he's that big a threat?"

"No, of course not, Lou. He just wants a little insurance..."

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A/N: You folks are smart, I think you get it, but at least I left some questions unanswered. Are they at Maya's place, or Allie's, or are they at Jack's and the keys they have aren't Maya's at all? Are they from the Berkeley campaign or free-lancers or maybe even from the Gallo campaign and they're actually in Berkeley's apartment? And, what does Finch mean by 'seeing you the way I saw you that night'? What night, and what, exactly, did he see? All reviews are read, considered and appreciated, so keep it up. I know I will. So, until next time, fellow perusers of the adventures of the staff of Blush Magazine...


	5. Chapter 5

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A/N: As always, the reviews are always appreciated. Thank you for all your suggestions and support. As usual, all characters, with the obvious exceptions, are owned and copywritten by Steven Levitan Productions, Brillstein-Grey and NBC.

MR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTON

Based on characters created by Steven Levitan

Police Captain Oakland was a big man, with broad shoulders and a large, red, frustrated looking face. He ran a hand through his grey crewcut before speaking.

"I have to admit it wasn't the world's greatest robbery attempt," he said, "I mean, two guys walk into the middle of an apartment building in the middle of the day, for pete's sake. Also, they had real bad luck in that they picked a day that the owners decided to have the place exterminated."

Allie had called Jack at his office around eleven that morning with the news that two guys had been found in her apartment, the one that she'd gained from Jack in the divorce, by the building manager and two exterminators conducting their monthly spraying. The manager had called the police as the exterminators held them at bay with their sprayers until they arrived.

"But it's a secure apartment building," Jack said, seated across from Oakland, "How did they get in?"

"They used these." Oakland held up a keyring with a pencil, as they were now evidence.

"We found them on one of the burglars, a..." He looked down at his notes, "Bud Aberline."

Jack studied the keys for a moment, then said, "Those look like my daughter's keys."

Oakland gave Jack a suspicious gaze. "Your daughter?"

"Yes. Maya Gallo. She works for me at the magazine."

Jack sat back in the chair. "Now how do you suppose those two guys got her keys?"

"She around?" Oakland asked.

"She's back at the office."

"I think we'd better have a talk with your daughter, Mister Gallo."

"Maya? Don't be ridiculous, Captain, Maya wouldn't be involved in anything like this."

"Still, I think we should talk to her, even if it's just to straighten things out."

"If you think it wise, Captain."

Back at Blush, a thought had been playing around the back of Dennis Finch's mind ever since the phone callfrom Allie and Jack's quick explanation and departure. First, Maya's keys, including one to the said apartment, turn up missing. Second, the said apartment is broken into. Coincidence? He suspected not.

The idea of Cal Berkeley playing Maya for a fool had crossed his mind, but he'd driven it away as simply jealousy. Somehow, probably since that night right after her final breakup with Elliot, he'd appointed himself as her silent protector, feeling that Maya loved not wisely, but too well (Shakespeare, he thought--Maya quoted a lot of it that weekend). Ever since, he'd viewed every guy with suspicion. He had about a .500 average in picking the good ones from the bad ones, so he wasn't perfect, but he felt pretty sure that Congressman Berkeley would shatter her into little pieces and run off to Washington right after the election, leaving a mess behind.

But who could he tell? The answer was obvious, so, as he tended to do in situations involving Maya and her boyfriends (By the way, Maya was forty--do you call them boyfriends at that age?), he'd keep his mouth shut and take the pain.

As he played the idea of Berkeley's involvement around in his mind, he caught sight of Nina sweeping across the bullpen.

"Ah, Dennis, just the little blond troll I was looking for."

He just gave her a gaze that she, as usual, ignored.

"I've just thought of something."

"Come on," Dennis answered, "I don't buy that for a minute."

"Just think about this a minute. Now, who am I?"

"A drunken ex-model with no self control?"

She paused, then said, "No...I'm a celebrity."

"OK, I'll play along."

"Anyway," Nina continued, "I thought, I could do a commercial for Jack's campaign!"

"I don't know, Nina. Jack's campaign is sinking fast enough as it is."

"Aw, come on, Dennis, everyone else is helping!" She seemed near tears. "Elliot's shooting his campaign photos, Maya's sleeping with his opponent, you're doing...whatever it is you do, and I'm the only one who isn't doing anything. I owe Jack a lot and I want to help, damn it!"

"OK, OK," Dennis waved at her to calm down, "Look, I know you do. I'll...well, I'll talk to Jack and his guys and see what I can do."

She smiled. "Thanks, Dennis. I knew that deep down you were all right. I'll get to work right now on what I want to say."

As she walked away, Dennis thought, 'that should keep her until about October'. He returned to his work as another interruption stepped off the elevator.

"Dennis," Jack asked, "Where's Maya?"

"Interview for her piece on gambling addiction among the elderly. Should be back any minute unless she pisses off the 'metamucil mafia'."

Oakland looked at his watch. "I got a couple minutes."  
  
"Congratulations," Dennis said.

"Dennis," Jack asked, "Please tell Captain Oakland that Maya would not be involved in anything illegal."

"Maya Gallo wouldn't do anything illegal," Dennis answered, "Believe me, I've tried."

The elevator car returned to the floor, this time carrying Maya, black bag over her shoulder.

"Maya," Jack called out, "Can you come here a moment please?"

As she came over, Oakland pulled out his wallet. "Ms. Gallo, my name's Oakland, I'm with the burglary section. I'd like to talk to you a moment."

Jack led them into his office, where Oakland closed the door behind them.

"I'm sure you heard that the apartment of one Allie Gallo was broken into?"  
  
"What? Dad, is everyone all right?"

"Oh, sure, Maya," Jack assured her, "Allie was taking Hannah to her baby-sitter when it happened..."

"Mr. Gallo, please," Oakland interrupted, then to Maya, "The burglars had in their possession a set of keys to the apartment."

He pulled out a ziploc bag with her keys in them. "These keys, to be exact."

Maya stared at them, disbelieving. "Those are my keys! How..."

"That's what I'd like to know," Oakland snapped, "When did you last see them?"

"Last night when I parked my car at..."

She hesitated, then finished, "At a place where a friend works. I rode with him back to his place where I...I stayed the night."

"This 'friend' have a name, Ms. Gallo?"

She started to refuse, but then, with a defeated sigh, she answered, "Cal Berkeley."

Jack nearly jumped from behind his desk. "The Congressman?" he roared.

"I don't know how it happened, Dad, I just...well, I like him, and we went out to dinner and...well..."

"You gave him your keys to break into Allie's apartment." Jack finished.

"No! I wouldn't do that! You know that, Dad, I'd never..."

Jack held up his hands to silence her, unable to say anything, just shaking his head.

"Did you have the keys while you were there?" Oakland asked, "I mean, that you know of."

She didn't look at Oakland. She just looked at Jack's dejected form and answered, "Not that I know of. I thought I had them in my purse, so I never double checked to see if they were actually there. I could have lost them anywhere."

"Yeah, I suppose so. Anyway, I'll keep in touch, Mr. Gallo. I appreciate your time."

Neither Jack or Maya noticed Oakland's departure. Jack didn't move for a moment, then stood up and faced the window, away from his daughter.

"I didn't do it, Dad," Maya told him, "You know me."

"I thought I did, Maya. I thought I did."

"Dad, I..."

"Get out, Maya." Jack forced out almost at a whisper, "Just...get out."

He never looked back, listening as Maya's shoes clicked out of the office.

Dennis looked up from his laptop and saw Maya's devastated face, tears rimming her eyes.

"Maya, what..?"

He watched Maya walk across the bullpen to her office, barely hearing Jack's calling out, "Dennis, will you come here?"

He cast a final glance at Maya's closed office door before entering Jack's office.

"Jack, what's wrong with..."  
  
"Dennis, I want you to begin termination proceedings on Maya. I'm firing her as of today."

__

A/N: I'd better cut this short--it's already five pages. Don't panic, though, more will follow very, very soon.


	6. Chapter 6

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A/N: Here we go again, onward and upward. I know that in the last edition, Jack seemed a bit out of character, but I took creative license, so don't look upon me too harshly. Need I remind you all that these characters are owned by Steven Levitan Productions, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, Sony Pictures Television and NBC? Probably not, but I did it anyway so (tongue out) nyyah!

MR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTON

Based on characters created by Steven Levitan

Dennis Finch nearly collapsed where he stood.

"You're what?" he asked slowly.

Jack was annoyed he had to repeat himself. "You heard me, Dennis. I'm firing Maya."

"What the hell for?" Dennis asked, "Find out she was smarter than you are?"

"I just found out that she was sleeping with Cal Berkeley."

"So?"

He looked at Dennis as if he'd spoken to him in Arabic. "So? Dennis, he's the enemy. She's a spy. In some countries, she could be shot."

"And in some countries Nina would be considered a tea totaller. What's your point?" Dennis could feel his face beginning to flush in anger and he tried to control it with even tones and deep breaths.

"She betrayed me, Dennis. She's a potential security leak and with the campaign as close as it is, I can't afford it. And I do not appreciate being talked back to by the help."

"OK," Dennis finally said, closing the door behind him and walking up to the edge of Jack's desk, "That's it.

"First of all, Jack, this campaign from top to bottom is one big, Don Rickles-level unfunny joke. You couldn't win right now if Berkeley died. You're two percentage points away from being a third party candidate, so worrying about Maya being a spy for Berkeley is like the captain of the Titanic worrying about corporate espionage right after hitting the iceberg.

"Secondly, you don't have any proof that Maya is where those two guys got those keys. Even the cops aren't sure. If they had been, they wouldn't have let Maya walk out of here. You're in the middle of a political campaign, such as it is, and the cops want it wrapped up nice and neat, with a bow if possible. You're overreacting. Imagine that, Jack Gallo overreacting."  
  
Jack gave Dennis a hard stare. "Are you listening through the door again?"

"Finally, Maya is an adult, so it shouldn't matter who she's sleeping with. You're just doing it because you think you're proving to your bosses down at the party offices that you can be a mean son of a bitch, something they've been complaining about."

"You've been listening to my phone calls again, too, haven't you?" Jack asked.

"Forget your damn phone calls!" Dennis slammed his fist on the desk, making Jack jump back away from him and the desk, "Jack, she's your daughter! She's smart and warm and caring and honest and..."  
  
"You're in love with her."

"Never mind that. This isn't about me, it's about Maya. You know if you had her running this campaign instead of those fat bastards downtown, you might actually be in contention. You need someone who's at least heard of the issues you claim to care about so much, and someone who can actually write a speech."

"Oh, that one to the retirement center wasn't all that bad."  
  
"Jack, the guy misspelled 'retirement' three times and started it out with, 'yo, old people'."

"It was a joke."

"And before your speech, I didn't know that Martin Luther King ran the AARP."

Jack had to give him that, so he said nothing.

"Maya did something that I cannot forgive."

"Well, maybe Jack Gallo, candidate for congress, can't, but Jack Gallo, the publisher of Blush magazine could. He hired Elliot DiMauro and Nina Van Horn and even a boyishly handsome college grad when they were all mistakes and forgave and forgot."

"Well, Elliot and Nina and you didn't do anything this bad."  
  
"Anything this bad?" Dennis heard himself whining, and stopped. "Remember that incident with the Russian Ambassador?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Yeah, that Jack Gallo was fun to work with. That Jack Gallo wouldn't fire his own daughter. But Candidate Gallo is just a bastard, and I won't work with a bastard. I quit."

Dennis pivoted on his heel and left. Jack sat at his desk, chewing on a cigar, thinking. After a moment, he grabbed his telephone, stared at it, then cried out, "Dennis? How do I dial out?"

As Dennis ignored Jack, he noticed that Maya's office door was open. Concerned, as she never left her door open, he walked over and crept inside.

She was gone, and as Dennis approached her desk, he spotted an ominous sign. The lower right hand desk drawer was open, and empty.

"Damn."

Like a shot, Dennis took off out of the office, ignoring the startled looks and Jack's calling out for him to stop as he leapt into the elevator as the doors were closing.

WASHINGTON, DC

The office of Congressman Cal Berkeley sat on the third floor of the Congressional Office Building on a side where he had a view of a parking lot and a small city park just beyond from his desk.

"That wasn't smart, Stewie," he said into the phone, "Not smart at all.

"That's no excuse. Jack Gallo's campaign is disintegrating anyway. Have you seen the latest poll? He couldn't see me if he stood on a damn ladder...I agree, it's gotta be a record of some kind...Yeah, I know, Stewie, but I had it under control...That's right, I have Maya...or had anyway. She called today, saying that her daddy canned her lucious ass...I don't know. She started crying and everything, so I told her I'd come back to New York tomorrow to 'give her a shoulder to cry on' and that we can 'talk about it'...With a spoon, my friend, a freakin' spoon. She's really of no use to me anymore if she and Gallo are on the outs, but she's just so damn good in..."

There was a knock and his secretary entered discreetly.

"Hold it, Stewie," he said into the phone, then to his secretary, "Yes?"

"Elizabeth is on line two."

Berkeley's face clouded in confusion. "Who?"

The secretary cleared her throat. "You wife, sir."

"Oh." The clouds cleared, "Thank you, Lee Ann."

When the secretary stepped out, he returned to Stewie.

"Just my wife...Anyway, where was I?...Oh, yeah...Maya Gallo..."

He laughed at something Stewie said.

"Maybe after I'm done...Yeah, I think you'd enjoy her...Oh, yeah, a lot better than the aide for the Hamilton campaign last time, better in bed, better information, and I only had to use the 'B' lines with Maya."

He laughed. "I agree...And best of all, I break clean this time...No, not this time I didn't...Anyway, I'd better go. The ball and chain is on the other line. And Stewie...take care of Bud and Lou, will you? I don't like messes..."

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A/N: An author once wrote that one of the best ways for a writer to get ideas is to pay attention. I hadn't pre-planned the Russian Ambassador bit, but the more I think about it, the more I think it would be interesting to explore that little 'incident' sometime in the future. What, exactly, did 'the Gang' do to him? OK, until then, here's tonight's questions: Is Dennis serious about quitting? Will Jack change his mind about firing Maya? What was in the lower right hand drawer of Maya's desk and why is Dennis so concerned about it's not being there now? What, exactly, does Berkeley mean about this time being able to 'break clean'? How does he expect Stewie to 'take care' of the burglars? What about Nina's proposed TV spot? Why is this writer ignoring Elliot? For answers to at least one of these questions, tune in soon. Until then, my friends...


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Sorry it took so long, but I've been busy what with Thanksgiving and all. Now that the turkey's been digested, I'm back at it. Now, repeat after me: I do not own any of these characters. They belong to Steven Levitan Productions, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, NBC Television and Sony (The Artist formerly known as Columbia Pictures)Television.

MR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTON

Based on characters created by Steven Levitan

Maya Gallo held the bottle up in the light of the early afternoon sun and studied it as a chemist might a flask of liquid chemical. She gave it a clinical stare, judging its' color, its clarity, as if she actually knew of such things. She did, in fact, know a little about it. She smiled to herself a sad smile, then thought, 'yeah, like a doctor knows a little about the cancer that was killing her'.

No one knew that of all the things that Maya Gallo was--articles editor for a major magazine, accomplished writer, pilot, journalist--there was one that never made it to her resume. She wondered how it would look to add to all that 'alcoholic'.

Sheer will power, something she'd inherited from her father, had pulled her through her initial bout with it. She wondered to this day how much more successful she'd have been at Stanford, above and beyond the journalism and theater degrees she posessed from the university, had she not been either drunk or hung over much of her four years there. Between Stanford and Columbia Journalism School she'd dried herself up. It hadn't been easy, but she'd done it, and had been recovering for years until that one night, how many years ago? Two, three? Hell, she thought to herself as she poured some of the liquid into a glass tumbler, she didn't even remember the weekend she'd fallen off the wagon, never mind how long the ride had been.

She was so successful at hiding that part of her past that no one knew of it. She'd never told Elliot during their time together, perhaps a good thing. Her father didn't know, either, not that he'd have paid much attention to it. Aside from herself, only one other person knew, and she felt sorry for him, not for his knowing, but for the way he'd found out.

There was a knock on the door that brought her out of her thoughts. Placing the glass on the end table near her couch, she crossed the small apartment's living room and, opening the door, came face to face with that one person.

"Hey."

Dennis Finch stood in the doorway, hands in his pockets.

"Finch!" She nearly dropped the glass in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"Jack told me he fired you. Can I come in?"

"Sure. Come in."

Once he was inside, she walked over and picked up her glass. "So, did he tell you why?"

"Yeah, something about you and Berkeley. I wasn't paying much attention, seeing as I was so busy quitting and all."

She took a quick swallow and swallowed it wide eyed. "You what?"

"Yeah, I called him a jerk and told him I couldn't work for jerks. I might have called him a bastard, but I'm not sure."

This brought a smile to her face. "I wish I'd have seen that."

She downed another swallow as Dennis watched with a cold stare from his blue eyes.

"Don't do that," he finally said.

"Hmm?" She played the drink around in her mouth a moment before swallowing.

"Don't do that, Maya." His voice was low, and hard.

"Do what?"

"This!" He snatched the drink from her hand, "The bourbon! Stop it!"

"I'm having a drink," she protested, "So what?"

"Yeah, but it's what you're drinking. I knew what was happening the minute I walked into your office and saw the bottle was gone from your desk drawer."

She made a grab for it, but Dennis danced backwards and she missed. Another wild grab made her fall forward across the couch. She looked up at him with anger burning in her eyes.

Judging from her spill, Dennis figured he'd been too late and that somewhere in the apartment there was another empty bottle like the one on the table. She may not have been three sheets to the wind yet, but one was certainly up and the second on its way.

"Dennis, give me that back."

Grabbing the bottle off the table as he passed it, Dennis raced to the sink and emptied both down the drain as Maya struggled to her feet.

"Dennis, don't..."

Finished, he sat the bottle and glass in the sink and spun back around in time to see Maya lunging at him. He again sidestepped and back-pedaled. Maya spun around with a murderous look on her face.

"God damn it, Finch, you son of a..."

"Go on!" Finch snapped back, "Get mad, get good and mad. Maybe then you'll remember what happened the last time you decided to hide from the world in the bottom of a bottle!"

"I'm going to..."

She again jumped, but this time Dennis caught her in a bearhug. She struggled against it for a moment, but then relaxed. She buried her face in Dennis' chest and began to cry.

"I'm sorry, Dennis," she sobbed as he held her, "I'm sorry..."

"When is Cal due back in town?"

"Tomorrow." He released his grip on her reluctantly and she wiped her eyes. "My god, Dennis, why did it happen so easily?"

"Don't think about it. Just be happy you stopped it before it got too far along."

Like last time, he almost said, but he kept it to himself.

Maya's face turned worried. "I didn't...well, you know...didn't ask..."

"No, not this time. And if you had, you'd have gotten the same answer I gave then."

She smiled again. "I'm going to go lie down for a while."

"Well, I've got to run anyway. Baywatch is on."

She paused, then said, "You can watch it here."

He smiled at her. "As you wish, my lady."

So, what'd ya think? I know it was a little far afield from the actual plot of the story, but I thought it was important to carry us over into the next edition, where I promise that I'll put more humor and get back on track. In honor of the holidays, there's no questions this time, but be ready for some in our next exciting episode. Until then, friends and fellow readers...


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: OK, back to business. Just Shoot Me is supposed to be funny, so I'm going to try to get back to that, but that last chapter was something, wasn't it? Oh, there's one other thing Just Shoot Me is, and that is...NOT MINE. It belongs to Brillstein-Grey, NBC, Sony and Steven Levitan. And I'd ask you to please mind your own business about it.

MR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTON

Based on characters created by Steven Levitan

It came to him like a thunderbolt that particular morning as he got out of his car and headed for the elevator. That was where he'd seen them before.

In his early days as a photographer, Elliot DiMaruo had been assigned by his first employer, the Independent News Service of Chicago, Illinois, to cover a hostage situation at a bank in Cicero. The guy inside had twelve people inside, a sawed off shotgun, a bomb and a grudge. He remembered to this day the tension in the air, the looks of the police and the bystanders as they waited for the 'boom' or the crackling of gunfire as SWAT moved in.

That had ended peacefully,as it turned out. There was, in reality, no bomb and the man, who thought his wife was sleeping with the bank's manager, surrendered before a shot was fired, but those feelings and expressions remained to this day.

The same feelings and expressions that ran rampant through the offices of Blush Magazine that morning as he got off the elevator and stepped into the bullpen, he thought to himself. This time there was no gun or bomb...at least as far as anyone knew. 

Jack hadn't left his office in three days, since he'd fired Maya and Finch walked out, apparently in protest of Maya's termination. There hadn't been any sound from there in twenty-four hours. Except for the fact that their boss, and current floundering political candidate Jack Gallo, had not shown his face and might, in fact, be dead in there, it had been rather peaceful. No inane memos, no staff meetings, no trying to use 'executive priveldge' as an excuse to watch bikini shoots. It was calm...too calm, maybe.

Nina was at the kitchen making her morning cup of coffee as he walked by.

"Still in there?" he asked.

"Who?" she asked.

"Jack?"

She looked confused. "Jack? I don't know any Jack."

"Nina, Jack. Gallo. The publisher..."  


The light finally came on. "Oh, him. Sorry. You know what they say, out of sight..."

"You'd think he'd come out by now. At least to have a donut. I mean look..."

He crossed the bullpen to what had been Dennis' desk and picked up an iced long john from a basket on it.

"Donuts," he finished, "Three days and he hasn't come out for donuts. Someone needs to go in there."

He grabbed the knob to the door but Nina grabbed him by the other arm.

"You can't go in there, Elliot," she told him, "What if he'd dead? Or worse, unshaven..."

"Listen, I worked with Carl Kolchak in Chicago for two years. Nothing can scare me anymore..."

He threw the door open and stood in shock.

Jack sat at his desk, staring at the phone. His eyes were wide and red. He had the receiver in one hand and held it halfway between his ear and the rest of the phone. The index finger of the other hand tapped on the '2' button uselessly and his lips formed the soundless word, 'Hello...hello...' repeatedly.

"...Except that."

Elliot approached cautiously, Nina creeping behind him, a deathgrip on his sweater.

"Jack?"

He didn't move, just kept pressing the two key and mouthing 'hello...hello...'

"Jack," Elliot tried again, louder, "What are you doing?"

"Trying to call out." Jack finally croaked.

Elliot gently removed the receiver from Jack's hand as Nina opened the window behind him.

"How long has it been?" Jack asked, seeming to come around.

"Let's see," Nina answered, "You called Finch in here, then I went to Armani's party and passed out, then I went to Tommy Hilfiger's, where I met this really rich old...Oh, my God!"

"What is it, Nina?" Elliot asked, alarmed.

"I think I'm married! I've got to go."

They watched Nina sprint out, then Elliot turned to Jack and asked, "Jack, just hire Maya back and Dennis will follow her, you know that. He's like..."

"A little puppy dog."

"Well, I was thinking 'stalker' but that works, too..."

"Why did he do that to me? After all the things we've been through, he deserts me. Why?"

"Maybe you were wrong.

"Jack, look, I'm not the noble type, but look. I know why you fired Maya, but don't you think you went a bit overboard?"

"Not you, too, Elliot?" Jack rose from the desk and went to the bar built into the side of his office.

"Now, just hear me out, Jack. Maya's a great employee, probably one of the best we have here at the magazine. Maybe...well, maybe it's better if you just kept the campaign and the magazine separate."

Taking his drink back to his desk, Jack dropped back into his chair. "You're right, Elliot. My manager's been saying I need to take a step back from Blush anyway. They say it takes up too much time and energy.

"But I've spent so much of my life and energy on Blush. I just can't walk away."

"Who said walk away? Maybe just not come to work for four out of five days."

Jack seemed to be warming to the idea.

"Yes, yes. I could even put out a release saying that I've handed control of the magazine over to Maya for the duration of the campaign. That's perfect."

"Except for one thing."  


"What's that?"

"You fired her."

"Not to worry, my boy, not to worry. Now, let me see. I just need to make a call..."

"Maybe it's better you go see her."

Outside the Criminal Courts building, Bud and Lou waited for a cab.

"Lucky that judge let us go, huh, Bud?" Lou asked.

"Yeah," Bud responded, "Too lucky. Something's up."

"Aw, come on, Bud. You think too much."

Just as Lou said this, a black car pulled up in front of them and a little, grey haired man stepped out of it. He was wearing a black coat and wire rimmed glasses that gave him the look of a cartoon doctor, the type that wrung his hands and said, 'Oh, dear' a lot.

"Hey, look," Lou said happily, "It's that Stewart guy."

"Gentlemen," Stewart said, reaching into his coat pockets. 

Lou screamed and passed out. Bud threw up his hands and yelped.

In each hand, the man held a roll of bills. He handed one to Bud and, kneeling, stuck the other into Lou's coat.

"A gift," he said, "From my boss. He appreciates your efforts and advises you to follow the terms of your probation to the letter. Furthermore, he advises you not to mention that I had any type of involvement with you."

"Sure, sure," Bud agreed, "Anything you say."

Returning to his car, Stewart pulled away, dialing his carphone. When it began to ring on the hook, he picked up the receiver and waited for the other end to pick up.

"It's Stewie...all taken care of."

A/N: Ok, it's kind of short, but I don't want to stretch it too far on this one. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, as they say. I suppose I should be polite and say that I do not own the character 'Carl Kolchak' or the 'Independent News Service of Chicago, Illinois', both of which are creations of Jeff Rice and the television series 'Kolchak: the Night Stalker', owned by Universal Television, Rice, ABC and (I think) Darren McGavin. I'm also a big fan of this show and I thought I'd give it a brief mention in this just for kicks.


	9. Chapter 9

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A/N: Sorry about the delay in this new entry into our story. Personal traumas occurred and it had taken quite a bit of creative flow out of me. As it is in some cases, my 'muse' as it were returned in a rush one late Thursday evening and here I am. Needless to say, I appreciate all the reviews I have received and thank you for your encouragement to continue onward. OK, now, stop me if you've heard this before. I do not own any of these characters...oh, you have heard it. OK.

MR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTON

Based on characters created by Steven Levitan

Maya Gallo lay in bed, tired but unable to sleep. Thoughts tramped through her mind like a herd of stampeding cattle, just as loud and just as hard to round up, keeping her awake and giving her an odd sense of discomfort.

So many things had happened in the last twenty-four hours that she was only now beginning to sort them out.

First, there'd been the visit to her apartment by her father, who apologized about his actions and practically begged her to return to the magazine. It had been an odd and slightly disconcerting visit--her father rarely ever begged. She'd, of course, accepted--on the grounds that Dennis Finch also be brought back.

Secondly, there'd been the phone call from Dennis, saying that Jack had asked him to return to the magazine as well. The call became one of almost an hour as they talked about Jack's change of heart, about that one bad day and about an amazing poll that had appeared in the NY Times that had Jack actually starting to gain in the campaign. It had said a faltering economy had begun to hurt the incumbents and this was starting to add fire to even the weakest of opposition, a definition that suited the Gallo for Congress campaign to a 't'. The conversation was full of laughter and warmth and she suddenly felt the strange, yet oddly comforting, urge to crawl through the phone and curl up beside the source of the warmth on the other side.

Then, there had been just a few hours ago. The sudden, frightening rush of feeling that told her that maybe...no, definitely...she wasn't in love with the man sleeping beside her. Cal, as usual, slept with his back to her, oblivious to everything, apparently content with the world. He'd commented before rolling over and going to sleep that that evening's lovemaking had been 'the best so far'. She wondered what he'd have done if he'd known the reason, that being that in her mind she wasn't having sex, she was making love, and it wasn't with him, but with Dennis Finch.

She suddenly felt the incredibly strong feeling that she wanted to be somewhere else. It had come in a flash, with a suddenness that was frightening in and of itself. She didn't want to be here, with him.

She jumped out of bed and quickly dressed. Grabbing her keys, she raced out of the bedroom, through the front room and she had just reached the door when the phone rang, making her jump, then freeze where she was. Sweat popped out on her forehead as she listened. She prayed that he'd stay asleep, so as not to force her to explain things.

After what seemed like forever, the answering machine picked up.

"I can't come to the phone right now, but leave a message and I'll get back to you."

The machine beeped and the other end relieved all of Maya's fears.

"Hello, Cal," a woman's voice said, "This is your wife..."

There were few things that Dennis Finch hated more than ringing doorbells late at night. As he crossed the living room, he tried to force his sleep clouded mind to think of one, but it failed. Even listening to Nina's stupid Studio 54/Liza Minelli story was, at that moment in time, more acceptable.

"Hold on, hold on, I'm coming."

Reaching the door more out of memory than anything else, he unlocked the door and threw it open. Standing before him was Maya.

"Dennis," she said, her voice shaking, "I just left Cal, I'm sober and I don't want to be alone. Can I stay here tonight?"

She misunderstood his silence as the beginnings of refusal, and she began to physically shake. "Please, Dennis..."

He shook the last of the cobwebs out of his head and said, "Yeah, sure. Come in. What time is it?"

He squinted at a clock that told him it was one am. Rubbing his eyes, he watched Maya walk past him and stand, uncertain, in the middle of the room. She seemed almost childlike in her confusion.

"I'm sorry I woke you up," she apologized.

He shook his head. "No, no, don't. It's OK. You need anything?"

"Well...yeah, I do. You remember that weekend?"

"Uh, yeah."

She paused, unsure of how to continue, then decided that she owed it to him to be straightforward. As she did, she suddenly felt a ridiculous rush of emotions. Betrayal, relief, anger at the man she'd just left, and...she tried not to admit it to herself, but yes, that was what it was...love for the man standing across from her in a pair of cat covered pajamas, and they came out as a rush of tears.

"Can you hold me like you did then?"

He froze in place and for a minute, she was afraid she'd insulted him or that he'd try some godawful lecherous move that would crush her beliefs in him. Instead, she nearly jumped for joy inside when the smile, the warm one, appeared on his face and he said in his Maya tone, "I understand. And yes, I will."

An hour later, both Dennis and Maya were asleep in his bed. She slept in her clothes, he in his pajamas. She was curled up beside him, his arm around her head and shoulders, hers lying across his stomach. As they both drifted off, each had the same thought, one they would never admit to the other.

"So, this is what it's like. I could get used to this."

__

A/N: I promise that, eventually, we'll return to the main point of this story, namely getting Jack to DC, but I thought I'd throw this in to see how everyone likes it. It's not exactly romantic, but it's something I had to write. Don't be too harsh with me. Until next time, dear readers...


	10. Chapter 10

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A/N: Well, it's been a while, with me being busy looking for a job, the holidays, fighting with my family, etc, etc...but here it is, the newest in the series. I hope you enjoy it. I do have an odd question to ask you. For a while now, I've had a story languishing over in the Kolchak: the Night Stalker section in which the main character there, the Carl Kolchak that I mentioned in a previous entry, interacts with the cast of Just Shoot Me. It's by no means a comedy, but I am considering moving it over to this side of the world. Would you be at all interested in seeing it here? When you review, if you'd like, please let me know what you think about my doing that. I promise I will do no such thing if you wish it to be so. Now, on with the show. Oh, and by the way, if you don't know by now I don't own any of these characters, you just aren't paying attention.

MR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTON

Based on characters created by Steven Levitan

Jack Gallo was nervous. He sat at the head of the table and adjusted the stack of papers before him for either the sixth time (by Dennis' count) or the seventh (Maya's). As the executive staff watched, Jack tapped the papers on their sides with the palms of his hands, picked them up and tamped them on the table before him, checked them for evenness, sat them before him, then repeated the process.

At Jack's left elbow, Maya caught Dennis' gaze and gave him a questioning look. Dennis returned the look with a slight shrug as the cycle repeated itself for either the seventh or eighth time.

"Uh, Dad?"

"Yes, dear?" Jack answered, still fully concentrating on the papers.

"Are you all right?"

"Of course, pumpkin. Why do you ask?"

He finished his ritual, then went to start again before Dennis grabbed the papers and flung them over his shoulder towards the open door of Jack's office, where they fluttered to the floor like a ticker-tape parade.

"Just wondering," Dennis told him, brushing a strand of hair from his eyes.

"A little nervous about tonight, Jack?" Elliot asked, "The big debate."

"No, of course not. I've done television before, it's a simple thing."

"Maybe it's because you have been in this campaign for over a month and you still have yet to establish a position on anything of substance."

"That's not true, Maya," Jack disagreed.

For a moment, Maya was confused. "Then you do have a position on something."

"No, no, it's just that that's not the problem."

"Wait a minute," Elliot suddenly said, "This isn't about that Miss America thing again, is it?"

"No, and to this day I swear that Regis deserved it!"

"Oh, Jack," Nina spoke up, "Don't worry, being nervous in front of the television camera is a natural thing. Just handle it the way I do..."

"Two valium and enough cheap booze to float an aircraft carrier?" Dennis suggested.

"No. Troll. Just imagine yourself in a nice, quiet place. Free of stress, free of worry..."  
  
"You know," Maya agreed, "That is a very good idea..."

"...And I'm naked," Nina finished.

"OK, _now_ it's a bad idea," Elliot corrected her.

"Oh, don't worry about me," Jack finally said, standing up and returning to his office, "I'll do fine. I fear nothing, for I am in the right."

"Shakespeare?" Nina asked.

"Abbott and Costello," Dennis answered, "Jack and the Beanstalk was on last night. One of his favorites."

"Oh, yeah, I remember that one," Elliot chimed in.

"I can't believe you all!" Maya slammed her hands on the table and jumped to her feet, "Dad's about to go and television and make a fool of himself and none of you care?"

"Oh, we care, Maya," Nina assured her, "But we're all just glad it's not one of us."

Elliot and Dennis nodded in agreement, which brought an exasperated sigh from Maya, who stomped back to her office.

Across town, in the back offices of the Re-elect Berkeley Campaign headquarters, three men sat in silence watching a fourth pace back and forth, holding in his hands a baseball bat, a gift signed by Dave Winfield.

"It's been a month now," Berkeley, the man pacing with the bat, was saying, "A month, and instead of falling behind, that idiot Jack Gallo is actually catching up."

"Well, Cal," Stewie argued, seated behind a desk, "Let's face it, it was the only direction he could go. He couldn't have possibly fallen any farther behind."

In a back corner, a bulbous shadow coughed and sat forward. Sidney Kaspar, Cal Berkeley's campaign manager since his first successful campaign, was considered a master in his craft. The nearly three hundred sixty pound man had never been involved in a losing campaign.

"I think that perhaps we have underestimated Mister Gallo," he observed.

Berkeley paused and looked over at Kaspar as if he'd told him to strip naked and run through the Stock Exchange. "Underestimated Jack Gallo? How?"

"It is my own fault, I am sorry to say. I did not remember one simple rule, and that is, an amateur does not know the rules."

Berkeley whipped his head around to Stewie and gave him a 'huh' expression. Sensing this, Kaspar hastened to explain.

"You see, dear boy, it is a rule that every man who competes in public office must lose his first campaign to learn how to win the second. Just as a young child must burn his fingers to learn that the stove is hot.

"So it is with politics. Mister Gallo, being an amateur and, let us be honest, not all that serious about politics beyond it being a vessel for his ego, does not care whether the stove, shall we say, is hot or not."

"I think I get it," Stewie finally said, "It's like fighting a crazy guy. You're gettin' in the ring with a guy who don't care if he gets hurt or not."

"You're getting as crazy as that one," Berkeley snapped at Stewie.

"Nah, man, just listen. Y'see, he ain't intimidated by ya because he don't care whether he gets elected or not, he's got his. Like the fat guy says..."

"I beg your pardon," Kaspar protested.

"...It's our fault. We haven't been campaignin' to win, we've been campaignin' not to lose. Y'get it?"

"Perhaps you're right," Berkeley agreed slowly, "Maybe it is about time we get down in the trenches. Stewie, find out anything you can on Jack Gallo. Ex wives, lovers, friends, employees, anyone who's got a grudge or thinks he's got one. Then when you're done, get hold of some dirt on his daughter."

Stewie looked at Cal. "Maya Gallo? Why? What for?"

"If we can't destroy Jack Gallo head on, maybe we can destroy him through her."

Dennis knocked on the doorjamb of Maya's office.

"Can I come in?"

Maya sat facing the window. "Sure, Finch."

Dennis closed the door behind him and stood with his back against it, studying the back of her chair.

"Look, I'm sorry if you think we went a little too far out there, but Jack brought this on himself. He is the one who challenged Berkeley to the debate in the first place."  
  
"I know."

"Now you know we'll help him as much as we can, just like, despite your disagreement with him on just about everything he stands for and ever stood for, you're going to help him just as much as you can."

Now Maya spun around and faced him. "He's a good man, Dennis. I know I don't like a lot of the things he did, or still does, but my father is, deep down, a decent man who I think would make an excellent congressman. I just wish he'd thought things out better."

"Well, if he had thought it through, we'd all be worried. We'd think he was sick or something."

Maya smiled in spite of herself and, as he always did, Dennis melted inside.

"Now that I've got you in a good mood, how about we go home and take a nice relaxing shower?"

"Get out of here, Dennis."

Shrugging, Dennis blew her a kiss as he opened the door and returned to his desk. It had been a week since Maya had rushed into his apartment, and she had yet to leave. She hadn't said she wanted to go and Dennis hadn't asked her to. No one at Blush knew yet, as far as Dennis knew, because he was sure he'd hear the inevitable talk that they were sleeping together if they did know. They weren't, and in fact the though of sex hadn't yet entered Dennis' mind. She needed a friend right now, and if more came of it later, then so be it.

'You're living with a beautiful, busty brunette and all you can think about is making her happy,' he thought to himself as he began to compose a letter, 'You're either sick or in love.'

He looked up and watched her talk on the telephone. She looked up as well, saw him and smiled in his direction.

"Face it, Finch" he muttered to himself, "It's love. Deal with it."

__

A/N: Well, what dirt can the Berkeley 'Department of Dirty Tricks' come up with to thwart our clueless hero and his competent but perhaps in over their heads staff? Is it possible there's a piece of dirt on Jack that hasn't been revealed? Why pick on Maya? Can anyone stop the Congressman and his cronies? And does anyone besides me remember Nina mentioning something about a television spot? Tune in next time, dear readers...


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: OK, OK, I'm sorry it took so long to post this and that it's so short, but I just want to get something out to prove that I'm still here and plan to finish this thing. I'm introducing a new villain, who's not so new, but way out of character, and I apologize for that. If you're still foolish enough to think that little ol' me owns any of these characters, rest assured I don't._

MR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTON

Based on characters created by Steven Levitan

Nina Van Horn strolled off the elevator, a wide, satisfied smile on her face.

"Well," she said proudly, "I've finally done it."

"What's that, Nina?" Dennis asked, not looking up from his letter, "Slept with the seaboard?"

"No," she answered seriously, "But I'm working on that."

She reached into her bag and pulled out a videotape. "I finally made that TV spot."

"For what?"

"For Jack. It's an ad for the campaign."

Dennis picked up the tape, a standard black vhs cassette, and studied it.

"Well?" Nina asked, "Aren't you going to show it to Jack?"

"In a minute. Right now, he's playing with a new toy."

"Dennis!"

Nodding at Nina to excuse himself, Dennis entered the office summoned by the call of his boss.

"You wanted me, Jack?"

"Yes, Dennis, help me with this." Jack Gallo was holding before him a belt that was connected to a series of thin white wires and a large black box.

"What is it?"

"They call it the..." he picked up an open box on his desk and read it, "...ElectroBlaster AbTightener."

Walking up to Jack, Dennis took the belt and fastened it around Jack's waist as he explained.

"It's one of those things that uses tiny electric impulses to tighten your abs while you work, just sitting at your desk. I saw it one night in an infomercial. It's amazing."

"Yeah, it certainly is," Finch told him, a look of certain disbelief on his face as Jack sat behind his desk, arms up in the air to allow the belt to move freely.

"See? Now, all I have to do is adjust the intensity of the charge..." Taking the black box, he studied the first dial, thinking out loud, "...One through ten, let's see...I do need to tighten up before the debate tonight...I think we'll pick ten."

"Whoa, there, hold up, Mister Franklin," Dennis warned him, "Maybe you should start lower on the dial."

"Don't worry, Dennis," Jack assured him, "It says here in the instructions that it is one hundred percent safe. Now, we just adjust the rate of impulses...and..."

There was a low humming and the belt began to slowly twitch around his waist. Jack sat for a moment, then turned his head and smiled at Dennis, who's expression told him he still wasn't convinced.

"Now, see, Dennis? Isn't it great? Now I can work on my six pack and still work. Isn't it..."

Suddenly the low hum became an angry buzz. Enough time passed to allow a worried expression to cross Jack's face, then, before Dennis' eyes, Jack's head began to pound against the desk. _Bam...bam...bam..._

"Something wrong, Jack?"

"No"..._bam_..."not"..._bam_..."For God's"..._bam..._"Dennis"..._bam..._"stop this"..._bam..._"crazy thing!"

About that time, Nina walked in.

"Jack, I was just..."

She paused in mid sentence, stood and stared a moment at Jack beating his head against the top of his desk, then said, "What's he doing?"

"Working out," Dennis answered.

"Ah."

__

Bam..."DENNIS!"_...bam..._

It was now noon, and Stewie was no closer to the goal assigned to him by his boss than he'd been when he'd begun. Yes, there was dirt to be had on Jack Gallo, plenty. Countless marriages, affairs, etc., but Cal couldn't use any of it. Clinton had proven that infidelity wasn't necessarily a disqualifying factor, and besides, none of this was a secret. Everyone knew Jack Gallo had yet to have a successful marriage, and his wandering eye was usually the well-publicized cause, with the notable exception of his last one, to that Allie, the one whose apartment they'd foolishly tried to burglarize. As for business dealings, there were some that bordered on 'illegal', but none clearly so, and it was a given that any successful businessman usually used underhanded means to succeed, so there was no bomb there, either. They might try to do something with it, create a scandal maybe, but that was just...

The phone rang.

"Berkeley for Congress."

"I hear you're looking for something on Jack Gallo and his daughter."

Stewie straightened up in his chair. The voice was slow and monotone, and knew too much.

"Maybe. So?"

"So, maybe I have something on both of them."

"So maybe you do. What do you want?"

"Money."

"I'll have to see it first."

"OK." The monotone voice sounded like it emerged from a moron. He was definitely an amateur in the blackmail game. No pro would have readily agreed to show his hand without a price quote at least. The voice went on, "Meet me in the Blush parking garage tonight at six p.m.."

"How will I know you?"

"Oh, don't worry. I'll find you."

The other end hung up and Stewie did the same, a warm feeling beginning in his heart.

The man on the other end hung the phone up and looked around to see if anyone else saw him on it. If they did they didn't pay any attention to him.

He'd show them. He'd show that pompous jackass Gallo and his holier than thou daughter that he was there, and no longer a man to be trifled with. He'd had it with being ignored by them all, made fun of, picked on. In one fell swoop, Jack, Maya and Elliot would all be ruined and Nina...ah, beautiful Nina...she'd be so sorry she'd spurned him all this time. That would leave that smirking Dennis Finch, and he had plans for him that would be slow and painful. In the end they'd all remember...and fear...the man they knew only as that tall fool from the mailroom.

Kevin laughed to himself as he boarded the elevator. What was it the Joker had said? Oh, yeah.

Wait'll they get a load of me.


	12. Chapter 12

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A/N: Sometimes things happen that we can't foresee or control. Something just came over me and I lost the urge for the longest time to write anything. The writing bug is just now beginning to return and, thus, this chapter is probably not one of my best. It's going to take time to get back into the rhythm of the show again, but I hope that you'll stick with me. So, for old time's sake, I'll say it: I don't own any of these characters. Judging from the absence of the show from the lineup recently, I'd say NBC probably doesn't own them anymore either. Fools.

MR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTON

Based on characters created by Steven Levitan

The fact that the studio was referred to by the station as 1A led one to believe that there were more, but it was, in fact, only a number and letter. The station where the debate was being held had no other studio and as Jack, Dennis and Elliot stood back, the hands raced to remove the five o'clock news sets to prepare for the debate, scheduled to begin at six after a rerun of 'Friends'.

Jack was nervous, Dennis could tell. He was bursting with nervous energy, pacing and rubbing his hands.

"Jack," Elliot was saying, "Will you calm down, please?"

"Here, Jack," Dennis said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a blue pill, "Take this."

"What is it?" Jack asked, taking it in his thumb and forefinger and studying it.

"Just something to take the edge off." Jack gave him a questioning look, to which Dennis responded, "No, it isn't Nina's."

"Oh, well, in that case." Jack went off to find a drink of water.

"You'd think the man had never been on television before," Elliot observed as Jack left.

"Well, you'd be nervous too if the last time you were on television you were punching a television legend."

Suddenly, 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?' began to play from Dennis' pocket.

"What's that?" Elliot asked, looking around.

"Just a minute." Reaching into his pocket, Dennis extracted his cell phone, then ran a hand through his hair and put a laid back look on his face.

"You're on the_ line_ with the_ Finch_."

"Dennis, it's Maya."  


"Oh," Dennis straightened up, "Hi, Maya."

"Is my dad around? I can't get him on his cell phone."

"It's probably off. You know, getting into the zone."

There was a pause before she answered, "He's scared stiff, isn't he?"

"Petrified."

"Oh, dear. Well, I'll be there in a little while. I just have the finishing touches to make on the interview. Just make sure he doesn't stuff himself with donuts like he usually does when he gets nervous."

"Yeah, I'll watch out for him." Dennis glanced quickly at Elliot, who was hitting on a cute blonde intern who'd been assigned to Jack by the station and not paying any attention.

"Hey, Maya, do you mind if we just pick up something for dinner and take it home? It's been a long day and I'm kind of tired."

"Oh, sure, Dennis. I don't require you to cook every night, you know. Maybe Chinese?"

"Sounds good. I'll see you in a little bit, then."

"OK."

Dennis hung up the phone and tapped it against his lips. Suddenly he smiled. Dennis Finch, he chastised himself, if that wasn't the most domestic conversation you've ever had with a woman.

Suddenly, he jerked his head around.

"Drop it, Gallo!"

Like a child caught with his hand in a cookie jar, Jack slowly sat the long john back down on the catering table.

At Blush, Maya held the phone in her hand a moment before hanging it up and smiling. Returning to her story, she completed her final thought and activated the spell check to do one final run-through on it before saving it to a disk for submission. The subject might not have been one of her best, but she did the best she could and decided to herself it wasn't all that bad.

With a tune, the computer informed her that the spell check was completed and, finding no errors, she saved it to a disk. Ejecting the disk and labeling it, she placed it into her desk drawer and stood up to get her coat. It was getting late and she wanted to speak to her dad at least once more before the debate began, to offer her moral support and maybe slip a couple of note cards into his coat pocket with a few points to maybe throw in. She'd printed them out on the printer at Dennis' apartment, part of a setup that far outdistanced hers at her apartment.

As she slipped on her coat, she wondered what made her stay there, but answered her question just as quickly. Comfort was why. She was comfortable there with those cats and his dorky pajamas and slippers and...and...well, with him.

Buttoning her coat, she turned to leave when her phone rang. She decided to let the voicemail take it and left. She was late, after all.

In the empty office, the voicemail picked up.

"Hello, this is Maya Gallo. I can't come to the phone right now, so please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you."

After the tone, a male voice came on.

"Ms. Gallo, this is Kyle Rodriguez with the New York Times..."

The set had changed quickly and was now ready. The backdrop was a large black curtain in front of which hung an American flag. There were two podiums, behind which the candidates would stand, each equipt with a water pitcher and glass hidden behind them.

Off stage right, Jack had calmed down, much to the gathered supporters relief.

"Dad," Maya insisted, "Take the cards."

"Maya, thank you but I don't need any help."

"Jack," Elliot moaned, "Just take the damn cards so she'll be quiet...OW!"

"Look," Jack turned to them, "Will you two knock it off? You sound like children."

"Well, she stomped on my foot!"

"Oh, yeah? Well, you're just a big freak."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Dennis, please?" Jack asked.

"Oh, no. You separate them, they're your staff."

The moderator, a small, gray haired man in a black suit, took center stage as the red light came on. The show was on.

"Good evening, New York. This is James Greaves and welcome to this debate between Democratic Congressman Calvin Berkeley and his Republican challenger, publisher Jack Gallo. Please join me in welcoming the candidates at this time."

The small audience applauded as the two candidates crossed to center stage and shook hands for the first time. Each had a forced smile on their face.

"I'm going to bury you alive, Gallo," Berkeley said through clenched teeth.

"You're going to try, Berkeley," Jack answered through clenched teeth of his own, suddenly confident and ready to go. The nervousness, the anxiety was gone now that the time was at hand. The ol' Gallo magic was working, he told himself as he moved behind his podium. He almost felt sorry for Cal Berkeley.

Almost.


	13. Chapter 13

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A/N: I can hear it now. 'Dear lord, he's back!' Yep, he is and he's ready to kick it up a notch again. Once more into the breach, dear friends, as we follow Jack Gallo and company on their race for D.C. Ready, set...whoops, hold on, just forgot. Please make sure your seatbelts are fastened, all seatbacks and tray tables are in their upright positions and the fact that I do not own any of these characters is in your minds. Now then, time to rock and roll, dudes...

MR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTON

Based on characters created by Steven Levitan

James Greaves took his position at the center podium and looked over the two men before him. So, he thought to himself, this is what American politics has descended to, huh? Dear God, help us all.

To Greaves' left, Congressman Cal Berkeley looked across his eyes at Jack Gallo, who stood at his podium and gave a vapid smile to Greaves and the audience at home. Man, they weren't kidding. This guy's head's as empty as a buffet display at a supermodel convention.

"We'll begin this evening with opening statements from each candidate, beginning with the incumbent, Congressman Berkeley."

Berkeley turned on the thousand watt smile and aimed it directly at the nearest camera.

"Thank you, Mister Greaves. Good evening, my friends.

"Tonight, I again come to humbly ask you to once again support me in my effort to return to Washington and to continue to represent you in our nation's capital as I have for the past years.

"My friends, the job is not done. There is so much more work to do, especially in times such as these..."

Across the stage, Jack gazed over at Berkeley. Jesus, look at this guy. He's Conan freakin' O'Brien! Tall, lanky, that ridiculous red hair, it was like running against Howdy Doody.

Suddenly, he felt something in his right pocket. Reaching in, he withdrew a packet of rubber banded index cards.

Maya had slipped them into his pocket just before going out onto the stage. Looking over at her, she smiled and waved at him. 

Most of the cards were bits of information culled from magazines about issues she felt would help him during the debate. As he flipped through, he came to the last card. It had only one thing written on it.

"Perhaps most of all," it said, "Remember this. 'To thyne own self be true'. Good luck, dad."

"...Thank you my friends."

"And thank you, Congressman," Greaves told him, turning to Jack, "And now his challenger, Mr. Jack Gallo..."

He looked up and over once more at Maya, who stood smiling at him from off stage beside Dennis. He returned the smile and mouthed 'thank you, pumpkin', then turned to face the camera.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am not a perfect man. As a businessman, I believe that the best way to convince the consumer to get behind a product, be it a magazine or a politician, they have got to know what's in it. The ingredients, if you will. So, before we begin, I want to let you know the ingredients that make up Jack Gallo."

"Oh, god," Elliot moaned, "He's lost it."

Dennis shook his head. "No, no, man. Just watch him work."

"What you have before you is Jack Gallo. I have been married five times, each ending in various degrees of nastiness that I, for the most part, deserved. My final marriage was to a woman who was young enough to be my daughter, and was, in fact, a classmate of my oldest daughter.

"The relationship with my oldest daughter, Maya, has only recently matured to the level where it earns the name. While I continue to make grave mistakes, including recently, I only hope that Maya forgives me my trespasses and knows that I love her and that I'm learning from these mistakes with my youngest daughter, Hannah.

"As I said before, I am in no way perfect. I have made mistakes. In fact, you might say that with the exception of my two children, my life is a case of reeling from one mistake to the next. I drink an occasional cocktail, enjoy a good cigar, a warm poker hand, beautiful women, doughnuts and playing New Orleans jazz on my banjo. Put all these together and you get Jack Gallo, candidate for congress.

"Now that you know who you are voting for, you now need to know what your voting for..."

__

Sniff, sniff "That was beautiful. I need a Kleenex."

"Here you go, Dennis." Maya handed over a box of tissues.

"Thank you."

Across town, from his apartment, Kevin raised his fluted glass of champaign towards the tv screen.

"Clever, Mister Gallo. Very clever. But we all know you're true self, don't we, Jack? Don't we? HAHAHAHAHA!"

There was a banging on the door. "Kevin, is that you?"

"No, mom. It's the television."

"Keep it down. I'm watching CSI out here."

"Yes, mother."

As he finished off his champaign, his cell phone rang.

"Hello."

"Mister K? It's Rodriguez. The story is set to run for tomorrow."

"Excellent. Your debt is paid, Mister Rodriguez. I hope your daughter is well."

"It was my wife."

"Never correct the mastermind!"

"Sorry."

He disconnected the phone and returned his attention to the television.

Very soon, Jack. Very soon my plan will be in motion and the world will know what kind of person you are. Very soon...

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Kevin!"

"Sorry, mother."

As far as the debate, most observers felt that it was over from the moment Jack's opening statement ended. The speech, which became known as the 'Who I Am' speech in the press, had appeared to put Berkeley unexpectedly on the defensive, it seemed. Armed with only derogatory statements aimed at Gallo's character and background, Berkeley was, according to a New York Times story the next day, "open season for Mr. Gallo's Muhammad Ali-like jabs of information, facts and data that had Congressman Berkeley constantly on his heels and seeking an out that never came."

The Times also had a bit of advice for Berkeley:

"It appears it is time for a new battleplan, based on issues and facts instead of personal attacks on his opponent. His previous campaign strategy, one of 'what are you going to do, vote for _Jack Gallo_?' has proven a disaster now that it seems more and more likely that the answer in November will be a resounding 'yes'."

Dinner was later that planned in the apartment of Dennis Finch. After sensing victory, Jack had staged an impromptu party at the club across the street from Blush, attended by all those who had 'worked so hard in securing the win' and those who wished to have their paychecks signed this coming week. Dennis, knowing who really signed the checks, came anyway, but had snuck away after an hour or so. Stopping to pick up the Chinese, he made it back to his place and was just unloading it when Maya arrived.

Moments later, the occupants of the apartment sat at the table and, between bites, laughed at the plight of the poor congressman.

"Did you see the look he gave when he quoted that Manchester Guardian article on the Middle East?" she asked, swallowing her chicken lo mein as she spoke.

"Yeah," Dennis answered between bites of sweet and sour chicken, "I thought he was going to wet his pants there for a second."

He picked another piece of chicken out of his paper bucket, then added, "Come to think of it, I think he did."

Maya nodded, laughing, "He did have that 'I need changing' look on him for the rest of the time, didn't he?"

For some reason, that comment struck him as hilarious and he laughed, doing a spit take that sent Sea Breeze all down his shirt.

"Aw, hell," he moaned, jumping up and heading for the kitchen for a paper towel. Maya, closer to the kitchen, got there first and, when he got to the towels, she had one in her hand. She didn't know what made her do it, but she began to wipe his shirt for him.

As he stood there letting her do it, thoughts began to pour through Dennis' head. He wanted to reach out, take her into his arms and kiss her, gently and for a long time. Hell, he wanted to kiss her gently and forever. He longed to disappear into her embrace and never be seen or heard from again. He wanted to tenderly kiss her good night, then tenderly kiss her good morning for the next, oh, hundred years or so. Why didn't he do it, then? Aye, to quote her beloved Shakespeare, there lies the rub. He wanted so much to keep her from thinking that this was just some cruel conspiracy of seduction that he kept his real feelings a closely guarded secret, finding comfort in the fact that she was there and happy.

"Thanks," he said.

"Your welcome," she answered.

"I'd...uh...better get changed."

"Oh, OK, sure. I'll clean up."

"No, I'll do it. Don't worry about it."

As he walked to the bedroom to get his bedclothes, he sensed some kind of tension in the air. It wasn't a bad tension, but, in fact, a good tension. Unbeknownst to him was the cause of the tension, which was that the one feeling more powerful than Dennis Finch's desire to declare his love and devotion to Maya Gallo...

...was Maya Gallo's desire to have him say it to her. As she watched him close the door, she dropped into a chair and laughed at the wild thoughts that galloped through her mind. Suddenly, the laughing stopped. Maya Gallo, she thought to herself, what was all this you always said about how relationships between men and women should be equal? Why not practice what you preach? Didn't almost every man you ever had a relationship with, with the notable exception of the little blond man in the other room, the one you truly wanted one with, seduce you? Well, then, why not you?

She suddenly looked up at the closed bedroom door. The answer was so obvious she'd missed it.

Why not?

She smiled cunningly. Dennis Finch, she thought to herself, prepare to meet thy destiny.

__

OK, OK, maybe it's a little bit out of character for Maya, but hey, isn't it about time? Maybe it's just me but it seems that there could be quite a bit of passion inside Maya and may God have mercy on the poor soul who brings it out. The juices are flowing again, boys and girls, so watch out! Now, after a long hiatus, the quiz for our next session. What exactly does Maya plan for poor Dennis and what's going to happen when a woman seduces a man who wants to be seduced? What repercussions will emerge from Jack's crushing of Cal in the debate? What story is Rodriguez going to run tomorrow and what does Kevin have to do with it? Is it just me or did this author about a decade or so ago mention something about Nina doing a television ad? And why is Kevin getting more page time than Elliot? For the answer to these questions, stay tuned dear readers. I promise it won't be so long this time.


	14. chapter 14

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A/N: Nothing to say, really, just doing this out of tradition (cue the dancing Russians!...It's a 'Fiddler on the Roof' joke...never mind...). Needless to say, I don't own any of these characters, so I won't say it. Take that.

MR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTON

Based on characters created by Steven Levitan

Jack Gallo took off his reading glasses and sat them up on his forehead before looking up at Dennis Finch standing across the desk from him.

"Dennis," he said, "Do I really need to know these names?"

"C'mon, Jack," Dennis responded, sharpening a pencil and handing it to his boss, "You don't want to be too humiliated if someone asks you who these people are. What kind of person can't identify the leader of other nations?"

"If his brother is the governor of a southern state, he's president."

Dennis gave him a sour look. "Leave the sarcasm to the professionals."

At that moment, the door burst open and Nina flew in.

"Jack," she snapped dramatically, "I'm mad."

Jack and Dennis looked at each other. "Well, we knew that..." Jack answered.

"Three days ago I handed that little hobbit a television commercial I shot for your campaign and nobody's said a damn thing to me about. I want to know if you're going to use it or not."

"Is this true Dennis?"

Dennis chuckled. "Well...how can I put this..." He lowered his head, pouted and said in a child-like voice, "Yes."

"Dennis," Jack scolded him, "I am disappointed in you. If Nina was kind enough to do this for me, you could have at least let me see it..."

"Thank you, Jack," Nina smiled.

"...Before I said no."

The smile disappeared. "Thank you, Jack."

Beaming brightly, Jack put an arm around Nina and led her out the door. "No problem, Nina, no problem at all. I promise I'll watch it as soon as I get a chance."

Gently, Jack pushed Nina out the door and closed it before she could question him any further.

Nina stood a moment, trying to figure out what happened, before hearing a voice calling her name from behind her.

"Nina?...Nina?"

Finally hearing, Nina turned and, looking down, spotted Maya coming towards her from her office.

"Hey, Nina," she said, "I have a question to ask you."

"Sure, Maya. Unless it has to do with the early seventies."

"Remember a couple of months ago, we ran an article about women seducing men?"

"Yeah, it was in July, why?"

Maya suddenly got a startled look on her face and shook her head. "Oh, it's nothing...just..."

Nina's questioning glance broke into a wicked smile. "Why, Maya Gallo, are you..."

"No!" Maya snapped, backing off, "Of course not, I..."

"Come on, Maya," Nina persevered, following her back to her office, "I know that look. The flushed face, the stammering, the too-quick denial. You're trying to lure some poor married man into a clandestine, wicked night of desire." Nina's eyes teared up. "I am so proud of you."

"First of all," Maya told her, "That is probably the least moral thing you have ever said in your entire life."  
  
"And second?"

"He's not married."

"I knew it! What's his name?"

"No, no," Maya smiled shyly and looked down at her desk. "You'll make fun."

"Why would I? I mean, unless it's Finch..."

Maya turned away from the desk and looked out the window. Nina's smile vanished, followed by a look of shock.

"Oh, my god, it _is_ Finch!" she gasped.

Turning around, Maya clasped her hands in front of her chest. "Oh, please don't tell anyone. I don't want anyone to know..."

Nina stood up straight and shook her head. "Fear not, dear Maya. No one will hear it from me."

"Promise?"

"I promise. No one will hear it from me."

"And that means not telling someone who will tell everyone."

"Why, Maya, would I do that?"

"In a heartbeat."

Leaving, Nina laughed. "I swear I'd never do anything like that."

Out of sight, Nina snapped her fingers in disappointment and headed for her own office.

"Dennis?"

Looking up from his desk, Dennis spotted Elliot stepping off the elevator holding a newspaper rolled up in his hand.

"Has Jack seen the morning Times?"

"No, not yet. He just finished the Post and is up to Newsday."

"Take a look on the front page."

Elliot handed the paper to Dennis, who did as told. Once flattened on the desk, Elliot pointed to a story in the bottom right hand corner.

__

PUBLISHER'S DAUGHTER IMPLICATED

IN '98 CT CONGRESSMAN SCANDAL

Dennis shrugged. "So?"

"Just read it."

"The daughter of Congressional candidate Jack Gallo has been implicated in a five year old scandal involving the disappearance of a Connecticut congressman...What?"

"Yeah. Maya is in the middle of political scandal."

The morgue of Blush Magazine occupied most of the bottom floor of the building. Riding down, Maya suddenly felt a chill as she stepped out into the badly lit hallway. Turning to her right, she followed the only light she saw, shining from a door window. On the window in black tape was the word MORGUE.

Opening the door, Maya was startled to find a familiar...if creepy...face at the desk.

"Kevin?"

Startled, Kevin stood up. "Oh, hi Ms. Gallo."

"What are you doing here? I thought you were in the mail room."

"Well," he explained, "Y'see, I had this rash..."

Maya stopped him with a held up hand. "Never mind."

"OK. What can I help you with?"

"I'd like a hard copy of this article."

She handed him a slip of paper. "'Seduction: It's Not Just for Guys Anymore', by Melissa K. Dennis. Oh...kinky..."  
  
"Just get it, Kevin, please?"

"OK." Turning away, he added, "Jeez, don't get huffy."

When Kevin disappeared into the deep, cavernous room where one copy of each and every edition of Blush was kept, Maya took a deep breath and looked around.

She expected to feel some kind of second thoughts about all this by now, but oddly enough, she didn't. It was almost as if this was... right. Like some greater power was pushing her onward to her goal, that goal being Dennis Finch. The more she thought, the more she felt the most embarrassing thing about it was not that she was going to do it, but that she was actually consulting her father's magazine on the subject. Oh, well, you must give the devil his due, and if there was a magazine that had expertise in the subject of seduction, it was Blush.

Back in the stacks, Kevin searched for the month and year. So, he thought, my little leak to the New York Times has not rendered you incapable of conducting a normal life, has it? Well, Maya Gallo, wait until I get rolling. HAHAHAHAHAHA...

He stopped in mid laugh when he heard the echoes of his maniacal laugh bouncing through the morgue. Finding it, he pulled the copy off the shelf and brought it forward.

"Here ya go, Ms. Gallo."

"Oh, thank you, Kevin. By the way, did you hear something just a second ago?"

"Uh...no..."

Maya shrugged. "Oh, well."

Dennis continued on into the Times' piece.

"According to sources close to former Rep. Michael Tenser (R-CT.), Mr. Tenser has identified Maya Gallo, 40, of Manhattan as one of two women he claims kidnapped him and then dressed him in the women's clothing he was found in by New York police. The discovery of Tenser in March of 1995 after a nationwide search by police agencies and the FBI led to his resignation from congress and his eventual divorce from wife, current Rep. Anne-Marie Tenser (D-CT).

"I don't believe it."

"Believe what?"

Dennis quickly flipped the Times over and looked back at Jack, who had just come out of his office. "The cost of the New York Times."

"Hm. Or could it be this article in the New York Times?" Jack asked, producing his copy and showing the article to Dennis.

"I thought you read Newsday second."

"Be unpredictable and no one can predict it. Gallo's Law."

"I don't believe it for a minute, Jack," Elliot spoke up, "Maya's not that kind of girl."

"Oh, I don't believe it either, Elliot. If you'd read on, even the FBI and the police don't believe it either."

Jack sat the paper down on Dennis' desk and pointed further into the story, reading: 

"A spokesperson for the FBI told a reporter for the Times that they 'bluntly do not believe' Mr. Tenser's statements, calling them 'unsubstantiated' and pointing to the fact that Mr. Tenser was confined to a psychiatric facility not long after the incident. New York police say they did speak to Ms Gallo at the time, following up on a receipt from a pizza delivery that had Mr. Tenser's credit card number, but that there was no solid evidence at the time that she was involved.

"The NYPD is "confident that Ms. Gallo was not involved in any way" with the congressman's disappearance, a spokesman for the New York Police Department said when asked, and have no plans to reopen the case.

"So you see," Jack finished up, "I have already made the mistake of jumping to conclusion once already, and I'm not about to do it again. Dennis, where's Maya?"

"She said she had to go down to the morgue for something and she'd be right back."

"When she comes back up, have her come into my office so I can talk to her. Until then, let's keep this under our hats."

Jack turned back to his office. Dennis looked up at Elliot and said, "You remember how to do that, right?"

"Do what?"

"Keep things under your hat."

__

OK, so the crack about Elliot was mean, but he deserves it. I'll keep the chapters coming, I promise. No quiz today, go out and enjoy.


	15. Chapter 15

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A/N: Here we go. I'm sorry it's been so long, but I'm now one of the walking employed (Yay! go I and my creditors), so my entries will be slower coming, but rest assured, I plan to follow through to a conclusion, and I am, in fact, beginning to work out a second Just Shoot Me story, which I may launch in the near future. Anyway, I don't own...oh, you all know this. One last personal note: Oh, Cloudburst, Cloudburst, whereforart thou, Cloudburst? We miss you.

MR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTON

Based on characters created by Steven Levitan

Opening the door, Dennis stuck his head into Jack's office.

"Jack, Ken Gregory is on line two, and I think he's crying."

"Thank you, Dennis," he answered him calmly. Gregory, Jack's party-appointed campaign manager, always sounded like he was crying. Picking up the phone and pushing the appropriate number, he found the familiar sobbing like breathing of the man on the other line.

"Kenny, my man, how are..."

"Don't give me that 'Kenny my man' garbage, Jack! What the hell is the deal with this Times piece?"

"Oh, that," Jack lit up another cigar, then continued, "Just some nonsense that Berkeley came up with. It's nothing."

"Nothing?" The sobbing became choked and fierce sounding, "Nothing? She kidnaps a congressman and it's nothing?"

"She didn't do it, Kenny. The guy's a nut, even the press thinks so."

"That's beside the point! Nobody cares if she did it or not! It's just the idea..."

The door opened again and Maya appeared in the doorway. Jack waved her into the office and pointed to a chair across the desk from him.

"Kenny, will you relax, please?"

"Relax? Jesus, Jack, you just don't get it, do you? I want you and your daughter to deny it, in public, today!"

"Won't that give it credibility?"

"Today, Jack!"

The angry click on the other end of the line, audible to even Maya, ended the conversation. Shrugging, Jack replaced the phone as Maya said, "You wanted to see me, Dad?"

"Yes, princess. It's about a man named..."

He grabbed the copy of the Times from the corner of his desk and scanned the story for the name, "Michael Tenser."

Maya gasped and threw her hand to her open mouth. In a split second, she composed herself and answered, calmly, "Who?"

"Michael Tenser," Jack repeated, "He was a congressman from Connecticut who says you kidnapped him, dressed him in women's clothing and dumped him into a vacant lot downtown."

Maya laughed nervously. "We didn't dump him downtown. It was in Queens."

Jack leaned back, folded his arms and gave his daughter his 'I'm not your boss, now I'm your father' look.

"OK, Maya. Explain."

And so she did, going into detail about her encounter with Congressman Michael Tenser. How she'd been hooked up with him through Nina and a friend, then abandoned as she had gone into the bedroom to seek out a new CD. How his back had gone out and when she'd tried to summon help he confessed that he was a runaway politician and how everyone, including his wife, thought him in Louisiana. And, finally, how she'd enacted her cross-dressing revenge.

"So, you see," Maya finished, "I didn't hold him against his will. In fact, I wanted him to go. Finally, that was the only way I could think of."

"Dressing him in drag and dumping him in Queens?" Jack asked.

"OK, maybe we went a _little _overboard..."

Jack took a deep breath and let it out. "OK, I think we can do this. From what you've told me, it won't be so bad. I'm sure you learned a very valuable lesson."

"I know. I shouldn't let my temper get the best of me."

"No. Never take advice from Nina."

Kevin slapped the copy of the Times down on the counter in front of him. They hadn't told him about Tenser or the fact that the authorities had already investigated the Maya Gallo angle and decided there wasn't one. That type of shoddy workmanship was simply unacceptable in a stooge. If one is going to be a mastermind, as had been his dream in life ever since he'd seen Woody Allen in 'Casino Royale', one had to depend on his underlings for accurate information to use to undermine a political campaign. 

He began to pace around the morgue, pushing the mail cart in front of him like a security blanket. What was going on? He'd planned it so well. According to his computer projections, the Gallo for Congress campaign should be a smoldering wreck on the side of the road. Instead, despite his best efforts, and, to be honest, in spite of Jack Gallo's best efforts, it was a Cadillac and set to pass Cal Berkeley on the way to Washington.

He was furious. How on earth did the men in his organization intend to follow through on their ultimate goal--world domination--if they couldn't derail a two-bit operation like Jack Gallo for Congress?

The timetable had to be sped up. An all out blitz had to be made to make up for lost ground. Yes, yes, that was it. Of course! It was time for the 'big one'. He stopped pacing and grabbed the phone, dialing.

"This is Mister K. Get me Perskey..."

As Maya emerged from Jack's office, Nina, who was carrying a box, flagged her down.

"This came for you while you were in Jack's office," she said, handing the package to Maya. It was about the size of a hardback book, wrapped in pink ribbon and bearing the logo of a store called Formal Fantasies, 'tastefully seductive'.

Maya thanked Nina quickly, taking a quick glance around to make sure no one was paying attention to the exchange, then quickly walked off. Being a veteran of such exchanges, Nina quickly deduced that either Maya was involved in a smuggling ring or...that...

She quickly took off after Maya, following her into her office.

"So," Nina asked, closing the door behind her and leaning back against it, "Is that for Dennis?"

"Oh, it's just..." Maya paused, then began to giggle like a schoolgirl caught with a note.

"Well, well, come on," Nina urged impatiently, "Let's see it."

"Oh, no," Maya gasped between giggles, "I couldn't..."

"Then I will." Nina grabbed the package off the desk and began to tear at the paper.

"Nina, stop it."

"Now look, Maya, who has more experience at this, me or you?"

Unable to argue the point, Maya stood back.

Dennis entered Jack's office just as Jack completed reading the denial he'd...well, Maya...had written. Dennis knew it had to be Maya just by listening--he'd been standing behind him for three minutes and there had yet to be a lawyer joke, so he knew for a fact that Jack hadn't written it.

Hanging up, he turned around and saw Dennis standing there with the videotape.

"What's that?"

"Nina's spot for your campaign." 

Dennis sat the tape down on the desk in front of him.

"You promised her you'd watch it," Dennis reminded him.

Jack sighed. "I did, didn't I?"

Rising, he picked up the tape and carried it to a new video setup that Dennis hadn't noticed before. It wasn't that he wasn't aware of the pieces of electronic equipment that had an alarmingly regular habit of showing up in his boss' office, it was a simple case of quantity. So many mysterious boxes with power cords came and went in the place it was hard to keep track. 

"It will give me a chance to try out my new Takako 5000 video system. They delivered it this morning."

"Who installed it?"

Jack looked over at him as if he'd asked what magazine he was at. "I did, of course."

"A-ha." Dennis crept towards the door, remembering previous encounters with Gallo-installed electronics, "I'll just go grab Nina and a fire extinguisher and be right back with you."

What Nina had removed from the package was small, red and made of silk, with spaghetti straps over the shoulders. Nina stared at it, then at Maya and attempted to reconcile the image.

"So?" Maya asked, "What do you think?"

"It's so…small," Nina answered, then looked over again at Maya, "And you're so…not. I'm not sure you're going to have room for everyone in there."

"I saw it in a catalog they sent me," Maya explained, modestly, snatching the nightie away from Nina and holding it in front of her, "So, I thought…"

"…You'd lead that poor Dennis Finch into sin. Oh, dear, I am so proud of you."

"You really think he'll like it?"

"Who'll like it?"

The sudden appearance of Dennis in the door startled the two women.

"Why don't you make noise when you walk?" Nina snapped.

"It's a character trait. So, who'll like that naughty little outfit, hmm?"

"Ah…" Nina looked over at Maya, who looked back, each searching for an answer in each other's face and seeing nothing before Nina suddenly said, "Elliot!"

Dennis regarded the dress again, then said, "I don't think red is his color.

"Anyway, Nina, Jack's ready to watch your commercial."

Suddenly, from across the office, there was a loud electric 'crackle' followed by dimming lights and a painful 'yow!'.

"Give us five minutes," Dennis said, pivoting and leaving, headed back to put Jack out.

__

A/N: Longer than usual, but it's been a while and I'm just getting back into the swing of the story. Things are going to start moving fast now, so hold on and look out for the next chapter coming soon.


	16. chapter 16

HTML1DocumentEncodingwindows-1252GeneratorMicrosoft Word 97MR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTONMR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTON

__

Based on characters created by Steven Levitan

(A/N: As I said in the 'apology', this is the rewrite of that dreadfully awful...oh, let's not even discuss it anymore, huh? OK, since it's been a while, let's review, shall we? I don't own any of these characters, which belong to Steven Levitan Productions, Sony Pictures Television and Brillstein/Grey Entertainment, although no longer to NBC-TV)

From years of experience and training as a top-flight personal assistant, Dennis Finch was now an expert in many fields, including the one he now participated in. While not a trait that one might list at the top of one's resume, he'd found the fine art of eavesdropping through a door a valuable asset.

On the other side of the door, Nina Van Horn watched as her ad for Jack Gallo's congressional campaign finished up and Jack slowly picked up the remote for his newly installed (based on the smell of scorched plastic and Armani) video system to shut it off. To the amazement of the two people in the office, and Finch on the other side, the machine did as ordered by the remote.

"So?" Nina asked, "What did you think?"

"You didn't have to do that, Nina."

'Do what?' Finch asked himself silently as he strained to make sense of it.

"Dennis?"

"AAAUGH!" Finch leapt straight up in the air and, spinning around in the air two and a half times (he never could pull off three spins, even at his best) landed behind his desk at the sudden and silent appearance of Maya behind him.

"Jeez, Maya, make some noise when you sneak up on people!"

At that moment, the door opened and Jack appeared.

"What was that…"

"Nothing," Dennis assured him.

"But I thought…"

"No, you didn't."

Confused, Jack returned to his office as Dennis retook his position at the door.

"Dennis," Maya asked, "Are you spying again?"

"I view it as 'covert intelligence gathering'," he corrected her, "But anyway, what can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to know if you had plans tonight is all."

Dennis now had the look of confusion as he stood and looked over at the woman of his dreams and said, "Not really, why?"

"Oh," Maya backed up, suddenly flustered and blushing, "No reason. I just thought I'd make dinner tonight and wondered when you'd be back is all."

With that, she suddenly pivoted and disappeared, almost in a flat run, for her office. As he watched, he wondered if all the Gallos were nuts or something before returning to his scouting position. The thought that she might be planning something danced through his head but then quickly out again. This was Maya Gallo, he told himself, and she doesn't do that kind of thing.

Meanwhile, back in Jack's office, Jack stood and crossed the office to Nina.

"I thought that we weren't going to mention that again. Besides, it wasn't all that special."

"Oh, Jack," Nina shook her head, "You have no idea what it meant to me at that time to hear those words."

Jack thought about that a moment, then asked, "Nina, I called you an alcoholic."

"Well, no, you called me a drunk, but that's not the point. I mean, you were the only person at that party that night to tell me to get down off that chandelier and go right into Betty Ford."

"Well, if I hadn't, you and those three other people up there might have been hurt."

Jack put his hands on Nina's shoulders. "I didn't think it was that special to you. I mean, you've been in treatment six times."

"Seven. But that was the very first time, and the fact that you even paid for it, the fact that you cared enough to do it is something that I've never forgotten. 

"I mean, you've done so much for me, and I just wanted to pay you back in some small way. I thought this was my chance. So, I took it."

Smiling, he patted her on the shoulder. He wondered to himself what it said about a man that probably his most loyal friend was the woman standing before him.

"Thank you, Nina. Dennis!"

The door flung open. "You called?"

Jack walked back to the video player and removed the tape. "Take this down to the party offices. Tell them this is my new spot."

Taking the tape, Dennis trotted to the elevator as Nina dashed back to Maya's office. Remembering that he'd promised earlier to pick something up for Maya earlier in the day (the fire in Jack's office had driven it from his mind), he pivoted, paused for a moment to admire his natural balance, and returned to Maya's office. He paused when he heard Nina say through the half-open door, "Well, if your intention was to get him to notice you, then you picked the right thing."

Peering through the crack, Dennis say Maya hold the rid nightie up in front of her.

"I know," she sighed, "I just wish I didn't have to use it."

"Well, you know Finch."

"That's true."

"What about Finch?"

Both sets of eyes turned and fell on Dennis, leaning against the doorframe, arms folded and obviously hurt.

"Oh," Maya stammered, "Uh...Dennis..."

"Hey," he shrugged, sadly assuming the 'Finch' shell he'd thought he'd been able to drop around Maya and cocking an eyebrow, "Don't bother explaining. I probably wouldn't understand it, anyway, would I?"

Turning, he walked away as Maya stood frozen behind her desk. Nina moved beside her.

"Do you really love him, Maya?" she asked.

"Yes," she answered, shaking and needing a drink, "I do."

"Then go after him, you little ample-breasted fool, before you lose him for good!"

Elliot was hungry. Felling 'in the groove' that morning, he'd managed to schedule all his shoots one after another and failed to pencil in lunch. Crossing the bullpen to let Jack know that he was ready to shoot the cover, he spotted Dennis making tracks for the elevator.

"Hey, Finch, where..."

"Lunch," he snapped back at him as he boarded the elevator.

"Could you..."

"No."

As the doors closed on Finch, Maya emerged from her office.

"Where's Dennis?"

"Elevator. Hey, Maya, are you..."

"Yes."

"Then could you..."

"No."

"Oh, OK."

Blush's lobby was a sight to behold. A large, glass walled area, it was centerpieced by a large statue of Venus' birth from the foam of the sea. Having worked there so long, no one, including Dennis, noticed the giant thing anymore. Especially today, as Dennis was in no mood for anything to do with love as he stomped for the doors. He'd nearly made them when he heard his name.

"Dennis! Dennis, wait, please!"

Turning, he saw Maya running towards him. Catching up, she paused a moment to catch her breath, then said, "Please, let me explain."

"No, let me guess. Little Maya bought herself a teeny-tiny little silky thing because she thought Dennis was just too shallow to appreciated anything about her but her breasts." He'd reached a falsetto midway through the statement before bringing his voice back down to normal to add, "I thought you knew me better than that, and had more self respect for yourself."

Dennis grabbed the handle of the door to open it. Maya grabbed his hand.

"Now wait a minute, Dennis. This isn't about self-respect, this is about love and the love I have for you. I mean, when I thought about it, I realized that I loved you from the moment you saved me from that jerk who was pretending to be Miss Pretty. Oh, but would you look my way? Noooo, you were too busy concentrating on tall blondes with fake boobs and the IQ of office furniture!"

"Oh, really. And what about you? Ever since you sat in that bar and told me about King Lear, I've been in love with you, but would you look my way? Hell, no, you were too busy drooling over mindless sides of beef and bald, self-centered photographers!"

"You mean Elliot?"

"Oh course I mean Elliot. How many bald, self-centered photographers do you know?"

They were nose to nose now, and drawing a crowd.

"I almost married that ego-centric chauvinist because I figured you'd rather spend your life with Barbie dolls."

"I actually did marry a Barbie doll because I figured you were into idiot hunks."

She thought a moment. "Are you saying you never loved Adrienne?"

"Of course not, Maya," Dennis' voice cracked a little, "How could I love her when I've always loved you?"

At that moment, they noticed the crowd.

"OK, people," he said, "Break it up, now. Go find your own lives, now, go on."

Once the crowd cleared, they stepped outside.

"Honestly," Maya asked, "You really never loved Adrienne?"

"No. When I stood there, marrying her, I vowed that if I had to spend my life with someone other than you, I'd ditch them at the pearly gates and hang out for you."

"Why?" Now, it was Maya's turn to tear up.

Dennis smiled and placed his hand on her cheek. "Because I promised myself the moment that I knew that I loved you that no matter what, I wasn't going to heaven without you. If I had to wait forever outside, I'd do it until you got there."

He smiled. "Sappy, huh?"

She was unable to speak. Something in the words had struck her deeper than any words ever spoken to her had. Unable to produce a voice, she shook her head and mouthed the words, 'I love you Dennis'.

In what would become their own special expression, he mouthed the words, 'I love you, Maya' in response.

Moving his hand to her chin, he brought her lips to his and kissed her, quickly but filled with more love than a hundred deeper, more passionate kisses. There'd be time for those kisses later, he figured. Even with that brief kiss, Dennis felt that the world had ceased to exist except for himself and his beautiful Maya.

As they stood there, it began to rain. Removing his jacket, he draped it over Maya's head and placed his arm around her shoulders. They walked down the street this way, Dennis soaked to the skin by the downpour. He barely noticed, and didn't care if he got wet. After all, he had Maya.

Wasn't that enough?

__

(OK, I mean it this time. Did I just write that? It's better than the last one, but still...EWWW! Anyway, I hope you all like this one better, because I actually liked writing it better, OK, no quiz today, but I'll give you all this little teaser. Somebody was watching this whole exchange. Who? Well, you'll just have to wait until next time. Until then, all those whom I haven't driven away by that godawful posting)


	17. Chapter 17

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A/N: Hi there. Remember me? Anyway, I don't know how long its been since I last updated, but it seems like forever. Hard to believe that this has been going on almost (if not) a year now, huh? Anyway, I'm back. I'd finished this chapter long, long ago but lost it until tonight. Hope it's worth the wait. OK, all together now, I do NOT own any of these characters, which are owned by Steven Levitan Productions, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment and Sony Pictures Television.

****

MR GALLO GOES TO WASHINGTON

Based on characters created by Steven Levitan

Dennis Finch and Maya Gallo rode back up in the elevator, hand in hand, every once in a while stealing brief, yet passion filled kisses in the empty car. Before returning to the building, they had decided that they would spend their first truly romantic night together that evening, a combination of popcorn, wine and _Casablanca._ Bogie had been Dennis' idea--while _Star Wars_ was, by far, his favorite, in his book, there was no one cooler than Rick Blaine.

When the doors opened onto Blush, they separated with a quick look and another silent 'I love you' before returning to their respective positions.

Back in her office, Maya found Elliot, seated on the couch and watching her with a goofy smile on his face.

"Hello, Elliot."

Elliot stood up and stood in front of her desk, the goofy smile stuck on as if painted. In the course of their relationship, she'd come to recognize the Muppet-like expression as the one he wore whenever he had a secret he couldn't keep.

"Hello..." he answered, barely containing a laugh, "...Maya."

Maya draped the coat she'd been wearing over the back of her chair to dry, then sat down and looked at him a moment. Silently she wondered what on earth had attracted her to him.

"Did you want something?" she finally asked after the eternity of watching him stand there and grin like an idiot, hands behind his back and rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet.

"Oh," he answered, still rocking and smiling, a sing-song quality in his voice, "Nothing...Maya."

"Elliot, I know that look..."

He could contain it no longer. He let loose with a fit of laughter, falling to his knees red faced and working to catch his breath. When he finally did, he began to chant.

"Maya and Dennis, sittin' in a tree..."

Dennis flung open the door to Jack's office, finding the publisher-candidate on the phone.

"Jack, I need..."

Gallo held up a hand to silence Dennis as he spoke into the handpiece.

"That's right," he said, "I want that running right away. Yes, and I'd like an audio version for the radio spot as well...Thanks, Devin."

He hung up and turned now to Dennis, who had been nervously waiting by the door.

"Now, Dennis," he said, folding his arms across his chest and leaning back, "What can I do for you?"

"Well, I need some advice...I mean, a friend of mine needs advice."

"Of course, Dennis. Always willing to help out. Have a seat."

"No...no, thanks. Anyway, this guy I know. He works for a rich guy, you see, and he's...well, he has some feelings for this rich guy's daughter, and he doesn't want the rich guy to, y'know, have his shot or something."

Jack nodded. "I understand. Go on."

"Well," Dennis stammered on, "This guy, he wants to know, how should he tell this rich guy about it."

"Ah. I see." Standing, Jack crossed the office and stood close to Dennis.

"The first thing, Dennis," he told him, "Is to assume that the rich guy knows all about it."

Maya had a hold of Elliot's collar and pulled him up and over her desk, close to her face.

"You know?!"

"I saw you with one of Jack's spy gizmos," Elliot squeaked out as the grip tightened, "Could you, please...just let go..."

"Does my dad know?"

Elliot squeaked again, not words this time but just the sound.

"Talk, DiMauro, or I swear, they'll never find you!"

"He knows!" Elliot finally forced out, "He was there! Maybe if you...just a little..."

She released him and he slid to the floor, coughing.

She'd intended to ease into telling her father about her feelings for Dennis. Break it to him gently, give him a chance to absorb the news that his daughter was in love with the man who was almost a son to him. He wasn't going to take it well either way she told him, but to find out like this...

"Dennis."

Dennis swallowed hard, then asked, "How long?"

"About six years."

"I...six years?"

Jack nodded. "I've known the whole time."

He turned and strolled back to the window as Dennis stood with a confused look.

"But how..."

"Clues, Dennis. You don't get to be in my position without learning to read people. Take you and Maya for instance. The way you talk to her when you thought no one was around. The way you'd go out of your way to protect her when things didn't go right. The way you cried when you found out she was marrying Elliot."

Dennis, who had been looking down at the floor thought this, now looked up in surprise.

"Bet you didn't know I knew about that. Or the fact that there was a look of deep loss in her face when you married Adrienne."

"Really?"

"I kept my mouth shut because I'd hoped it would go away. Then today, I saw you and her with my spy scope. I knew then that there was no more point to hoping that anymore..."

Just then, the door burst open.

"Dad, don't you dare!"

Jack looked at Maya, confused. "Do what?"

"Oh, don't pull that innocent act with me, Jack Gallo. You have chased off every guy who ever had any true feelings for me, but not this time!"

Maya had the larger man backed against the desk, bending backwards before the force of the tsunami that was Maya Gallo when she got rolling.

"I didn't run off Elliot," Jack offered in weak protest.

"And don't expect forgiveness for that anytime soon! See, you run off the ones you shouldn't and when you should, you don't! Before today I didn't have the guts to stand up to it, but now I do. And do you know why?"

"Why?" Jack looked past her at Dennis, who seemed to possess the common sense to stay out of the way.

"Because of all the guys, Dennis Finch is the only one who's worth it. I love him, and he loves me and I refuse to let you or Elliot or anyone else get in the way!"

"OK."

She took in a deep breath to prepare for the expected reply, but hadn't expected him to give in that easily. She froze, did a double take, then said, "What?"

Dennis came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "OK, Hurricane, he's had enough."

Returning to his upright position, Jack straightened his suit. Maya and Dennis stood before him, Dennis with his hands on her shoulders, both with even, but worried, gazes.

"You love him that much, Maya?"

"Yes, dad, I do."

"Dennis?"

"I'd die for her, Jack."

Jack let out a sigh. "I want it made clear, Maya, that I do not approve..."

Two hearts sank into their respective shoes.

"...But, then again, do any fathers really approve of the men their daughters love? Their happiness is all that matters. If Dennis makes you happy, then I won't interfere."  


Maya ran up to her father and hugged him. "I love you, dad."

"I love you, too, pumpkin."

"So," Maya said, backing out of the office, smiling and wiping away a tear, "I guess I'll go back to...uh...work, that's it. Dennis, I'll see you tonight."

Dennis smiled at her, nodding, as she left. He then turned to Jack, smiled and nodded to him and stepped towards his own desk.

"One more thing, Dennis."

"Yeah, Jack?"

"I allowed Elliot to live after he broke my daughter's heart. It's a mistake I won't make twice."

__

I'm kind of tired, since it's a quarter to midnight here. I hope this lived up to expectations and I hope it won't be so long until I update again. I promise, there is an ending to this and we will arrive there. Until then, everyone, to quote Tony K., if your out on your bikes tonight, remember, always wear white.


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